12 May 2004	Wednesday	21 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

NAJAF, May 11: Radical Shia leader Moqtada Sadr offered on Tuesday to end his resistance if the US-led occupation forces agreed to negotiations, according to leaflets handed out by his office in Najaf.

"I am ready to end everything if the occupation forces officially ask for negotiations on condition that these negotiations are just and transparent and under the stewardship of the Shia religious authorities," according to a statement signed by him.

Sadr's Mehdi Army militia has suffered heavy losses during battles with the US-led military during fighting in Baghdad and in southern cities. Sadr is wanted by the US military in connection with the murder of a rival last year. He has been holed up in Najaf for more than a month where he has issued a series of dire threats against the US forces.

"If I accept or don't accept negotiations, they (the US) are the ones who are escalating the situation and who don't want peace," said the statement. "The calls for the Mehdi Army to leave Najaf and other cities are on the order of the biggest villain of them all, (US President) Bush," according to the statement being handed out by supporters outside his office in Najaf.

The offer followed a demand by the new provincial governor of Najaf, Adnan al Zorfi, that Moqtada Sadr disband his militia. -AFP