Sadr orders fighters to stand down
"We want the Iraqi people to stop this bloodshed and maintain Iraq's independence and stability," al-Sadr said in a statement released on Sunday.
"For that we have decided to withdraw [al-Sadr's Mahdi Army] from the streets of Basra and all other provinces." At least 270 people have reportedly died since an Iraqi military crackdown in Basra sparked fighting across the country.
Ali al-Dabbagh, an Iraqi government spokesman said Muqtada al-Sadr's order will help restore peace. "A large number of people will listen to Moqtada al-Sadr's call. Life will return to all of Iraq as before," Dabbagh said on Al-Iraqiya state television. "Those who do not obey the instructions of the government and of Sadr, the government will be forced to implement the law against them." Despite the order Iraqi troops will continue military operations in Basra, Dabbagh later told Reuters news agency. "The operation in Basra will continue and will not stop until it achieves its goals
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