Irak

[Shahab3]

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Sadr militia agrees to trade weapons for cash: mediator

BAGHDAD (AFP) Oct 09, 2004
Fighters loyal to Iraqi rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City have agreed to trade in their weapons for cash, a mediator involved in brokering a deal said Saturday.

"We have agreed today that the fighters would hand over their heavy and medium-sized weapons for cash starting Monday," Kareem al-Bakheet told AFP.

"Also the US military has undertaken not to attack Sadr City and we in turn have agreed to urge fighters through mosque loudspeakers to stop attacking American and Iraqi forces."

There was no confirmation from the US military or representatives of Sadr.

Bakheet, who heads a grouping of tribal leaders in Sadr City with loyalty to Sadr, said the government has agreed to stop pursuing and arresting Sadr's partisans and that "only those fighters charged with crimes would be prosecuted while the majority would be eligible for amnesty."