Iraq PM meets top clerics in bid for government

NAJAF, Iraq, Apr 27 (Reuters) Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki held talks with Iraq's most influential Shi'ite clerics today as he set out to form a national unity government that can avert a sectarian civil war.

The Shi'ite politician first met Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who is arguably the most powerful man in Iraq with his huge sway over the 60-percent Shi'ite majority he has restrained in the face of Sunni Arab insurgent bombings.

Maliki later met the unpredictable, but powerful Moqtada al-Sadr, a radical cleric who has emerged as a kingmaker in Iraq's treacherous political landscape.

''Maliki is proving to be a very pragmatic and wise politician,'' said Joost Hiltermann, from the International Crisis Group.

''Sistani is the unquestionable authority among Shi'ites in Iraq.

Sadr is a lesser cleric but he has managed to eclipse Sistani politically because he is a street organiser.'' Maliki was appointed prime minister-designate last Saturday after his Shi'ite United Iraqi Alliance (UIA) dropped Ibrahim al-Jaafari as its candidate for the top government job.

Although Maliki has won the support of Sunnis and Kurds, the long battle to force out Jaafari to break a four-month deadlock over a new government has strained the UIA.

Maliki's meetings with Sistani and Sadr may have been both an attempt to build momentum for the new government and ease divisions within the Shi'ite bloc led by Maliki's Dawa party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Sadr's group.

The ageing Sistani is the leading figure of Najaf's Shi'ite clerical establishment, while the young Sadr is a populist who has led two armed revolts against US and Iraqi troops and derives much of his authority from his respected father, a cleric believed to have been killed by Saddam Hussein's agents. CRUCIAL CLERICS Their backing will be crucial for Maliki's efforts to create a stable coalition to tackle a raging insurgency and sectarian violence which has exploded since the February bombing of a Shi'ite shrine nearly sparked a full-scale communal conflict.

Sadr, who heads the Mehdi Army militia, told reporters he will push for a timetable for a withdrawal of US troops.

His comments came hours after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld ended a high profile visit to show support for Maliki which Sadr denounced as a ''shocking intervention in Iraqi affairs.'' The reclusive Sistani exhibited the trademark moderation that many credit with saving Iraq from plunging into a violent abyss.

After meeting Maliki, Sistani urged the prime minister- designate to disarm militias, and wipe out violence.

''Weapons should be solely in the hands of government forces,'' Sistani was quoted as saying in a statement which also called for a campaign against administrative corruption.

Fighting militias would be complex and potentially explosive.

Many are tied to leading political parties, including ones inside the Shi'ite coalition.

US military officials estimate that Sadr's Mehdi Army alone consists of between 3,000 and 4,000 fighters while the Badr militia linked with the Alliance's SCIRI party is put at 5,000 to 7,000 members.

Maliki has said militias should be merged with Iraqi armed forces, warning weapons which remain outside of government control threaten to trigger a civil war.

REUTERS