The United States military in Iraq was on Tuesday on the brink of striking a deal with the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr after two days of secret negotiations.
An Iraqi political party that has been mediating said agreement had been reached on virtually all issues.
But the US was still insisting that al-Sadr — who led the recent Shia uprising against the US occupation of Iraq, and is holed up in Najaf with thousands of armed followers — stand trial for the murder last year of a moderate Iraqi cleric.
”We are trying to solve the problem. The US wants a guarantee that Iraqis will try him. But it is impossible for us to arrest him,” a mediator, Jawad al-Maliki, said on Tuesday, before setting off to Najaf from Baghdad for further talks.
Maliki, a spokesperson for the moderate Shia Da’awa party, added: ”I don’t think there is a power on earth that can detain Sadr. The problem isn’t him. It’s his followers.”
As negotiations continued, the security situation remained volatile. Insurgents fired 12 mortar bombs at Baghdad’s largest prison Abu Ghraib, killing 22 prisoners and wounding more than 90.
But with an agreement close in Najaf and with refugees trickling back into the besieged town of Falluja, tensions in Iraq appeared to be easing on Tuesday after the bloodiest month since the fall of Saddam Hussein a year ago.
The US military has killed more than 600 Iraqis in Falluja over the past three weeks. On Tuesday, however, witnesses said some shops had reopened and Iraqi police were going back to work. The returnees were venturing back a day after the US military said it would not resume offensive operations in Falluja — as long as resistance fighters inside the city gave up their heavy weapons.
”I am confident that the guerrillas will turn in their heavy weapons as long as the Americans provide the guarantees they promised,” Fawzi Muthin, a member of Falluja’s delegation said. He added: ”I just hope we learn from the experience. The Americans have failed in Iraq over the last year.
”They have to treat us with respect as humans and deliver on the promises they made.”
With Spanish troops beginning their withdrawal from south-central Iraq on Tuesday, and Honduras announcing that it was also pulling its 370 soldiers out over the next two months, the White House said it hoped a new UN resolution would help encourage other countries to send troops to Iraq.
”The coalition in Iraq is strong and their resolve is firm,” said the White House spokesperson, Scott McClellan.
The secretary of state, Colin Powell, telephoned 13 allies over the past 48 hours to encourage continued commitment to the coalition.
But Thailand became the latest partner to reveal it was considering pulling its troops out. The Thai prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, said his country’s 443 troops would stay for now, but withdraw ”if we consider that our soldiers are in danger.
US commanders said they had no current plans to storm al-Sadr’s stronghold in Najaf, even though the cleric’s forces continue to vex the coalition. Embarrassing pictures were broadcast on Tuesday on the al-Arabiya TV station showing jubilant fighters belonging to al-Sadr’s Mahdi army driving around in an ambushed American Humvee.
A US soldier died on Tuesday in the northern city of Mosul after a bomb hit his convoy.
Speaking in Baghdad, an aide to al-Sadr, Sayed Hazem al-Araji, confirmed that ”top secret” negotiations to end the standoff in Najaf were in progress. He said the cleric had several demands, including that coalition troops be placed under the control of the UN. He also wanted a swift trial for Saddam.
Sources close to the negotiations said al-Sadr had agreed to the coalition’s demand that his militia army should be turned into a political organisation. He had also promised to respect the authority of the new Iraqi government, due to take power on June 30.
”We want guarantees that the voice of Sadr will not be marginalised,” Araji said. He maintained that the cleric was innocent of all charges against him, and added: ”We are sceptical he can receive a fair trial. At the moment Iraqi law is subject to American law. There isn’t an independent judiciary.”
A tribunal of seven judges and four prosecutors has been set up to try Saddam and his former cohorts. It will have an annual budget of $75-million. No trial date has been set. – Guardian Unlimited Â