Posted By The Media Line Staff
IRAQ (The Media Line) April 8, 2008 — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki announced on Monday he would ban a powerful Shi'ite parliamentary bloc from running in the next local elections unless it disarmed its 60,000-strong armed force.
The 'Sadri parliamentary bloc, led by Muqtada A-'Sadr, responded by saying it would disarm its armed force, known as the Mahdi Army, only if the Shi'ite religious authorities ordered them to do so.
"The Mahdi Army does not accept its orders from anyone except A-'Sadr and the religious authorities with whom he consults. If the religious authorities would ask him to disarm the Mahdi Army, he will definitely execute their demand," spokesman for the 'Sadri bloc, 'Salah A-'Ubeidi told reporters.
According to a report issued by the U.S. Defense Department in November 2006, the Mahdi Army is considered the "most dangerous accelerant of potentially self-sustaining sectarian violence in Iraq." The Mahdi Army commands approximately 60,000 fighters, the report stated.
Many of A-'Sadr's armed followers were trained and equipped in Iran.
Al-Maliki's announcement came following severe fighting between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi and American forces in the past few weeks, which has so far resulted in hundreds of dead. Iraqi and American forces are currently trying to cordon off A-'Sadr City, a giant neighborhood of 2.5 million residents in Baghdad, dominated by A-'Sadr followers.
Al-Maliki said he would continue the operation until his army gained full control over the area.
Seven months ago A-'Sadr ordered members of his bloc to quit Al-Maliki's government after the latter rejected his demand to call on the American army to leave the country.
Members of the 'Sadri parliamentary bloc denounced Al-Maliki's ultimatum regarding the disarmament of the Mahdi Army.
"There are 28 militias in Iraq and some of them [are backing parties which] participate in the ruling regime today," MP Baha Al-'Araji said, according to the Iraqi daily A-Zaman.
Al-'Araji added that Al-Maliki's party was backed by an armed force. He called on the United Nations to intervene in the American-Iraqi blockade on A-'Sadr City.
In December 2006 James Baker and Lee Hamilton co-authored the Iraq Study Group Report, in which they asserted that the "prevalence of militias sends a powerful message: political leaders can preserve and expand their power only if backed by armed force."
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