NAJAF, Aug 25: Iraq's top Shia leader made a sudden return to the country on Wednesday and said he had a plan to end the uprising in the "burning city" of Najaf, where fighting is creeping ever closer to the Imam Ali Mosque.
Aides to Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani said he would soon unveil an initiative to get militants out of the mosque. Ayatollah Sistani also called for Iraqis to march on Najaf to save it, a move that could escalate passions among Shias.
Police opened fire on a group of people who were quick to heed the ayatollah's call, killing two marchers west of Najaf. Dressed in a black robe and turban, with a flowing white beard and dark rings under his eyes, the reclusive scholar arrived in the southern city of Basra from Kuwait, having undergone heart treatment in London. He plans to head to Najaf, his adopted home, on Thursday.
His return came as US and Iraqi forces tightened their grip around Mehdi Army militants loyal to radical leader Moqtada al Sadr holed up in the Imam Ali Mosque, advancing to within 300 metres of the shrine.
"We ask all believers to volunteer to go with us to Najaf," Ayatollah Sistani said in a statement read out in Basra by his aide, Hayder al Safi. "I have come for the sake of Najaf and I will stay in Najaf until the crisis ends."
His aides said he would depart for Najaf on Thursday morning with his supporters. They urged US forces encircling the gold-domed mosque to leave. Ayatollah Sistani, 73, reached Basra in a convoy of more than a dozen vehicles led by police cars with sirens wailing.
His hospitalization in London three weeks ago coincided with the outbreak of the uprising by Moqtada Sadr, a young firebrand who has challenged the collegiate leadership of the Najaf group, headed by the ayatollah.
The call to march could be an attempt by the reclusive ayatollah to reclaim some of the political ground captured during the uprising by Sadr, who has painted himself as the face of anti-US resistance and icon to the masses.
"The Americans have been surrounding the shrine for days and Sadr's followers stay barricaded and determined. This march is the only way for both sides to save face," said another Shia leader, Mohammad Bahr al Uloum.
"The march will make history. It could be decisive in keeping Iraq united. We can talk politics later." Moqtada Sadr has also called for his own followers to march on Najaf. But rival marches could become a new flashpoint for violence.
Sadr aide Mahmoud al Soudani told Al Arabiya television the Mehdi militia were prepared for talks to halt the fierce fighting, which has killed hundreds, undermined interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and rattled world oil markets. Other aides said the militia would stop fighting in southern Iraq in honour of Ayatollah Sistani's return.
US TROOPS NEAR SHRINE: In the heart of Najaf's old city, US tanks fired shells and troops advanced closer to the mosque as helicopters strafed militia targets. Gunfire rocked the area and smoke rose.
Asked if the US military would suspend operations following Ayatollah Sistani's return, Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic said the Iraqi government would decide the course of action.
In a statement, Mr Allawi welcomed the ayatollah's return, but did not call on him to play any role in the crisis. Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim al Shalaan had warned the Mehdi fighters they would be wiped out unless they left the mosque by Tuesday evening. Iraqi and US officials have said only Iraqi forces would storm the mosque.
Some 500 Iraqi troops have been deployed around the shrine. Police also arrested senior Sadr aide Ali Smeisim in Najaf, and alleged they had captured a number of Sadr supporters who had stolen sacred items from the mosque. Sadr's aides denied the accusation, saying it was part of a smear campaign.
A VERY DIFFERENT NAJAF: In a BBC interview earlier on Wednesday, one of Ayatollah Sistani's aides called on the militia to leave the shrine. Sayyed Mohamed Musawi said the situation could be solved only by the Iraqi government.
"We always say that the Americans should be very far from the holy places," he said. One thing is certain. Ayatollah Sistani will find a very different Najaf to the one he left. His office and home are close to the shrine off a small street ruled by Sadr's young militants.
Some 2,000 US marines backed by aircraft have pounded rebels whose main weapons are AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. But any raid by US troops on the shrine could trigger protests. -Reuters
