Iraqi Shi'ite leaders head to Najaf to avert crisis

BAGHDAD, Dec 22 (Reuters) Leaders of Iraq's Shi'ite Alliance, acknowledging a looming government crisis, will go to the holy city of Najaf to meet top clerics they hope can help save their fractious coalition, officials today said.

The Alliance officials said the boycott of fiery cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's supporters of government and parliament last month and sectarian attacks blamed on militias loyal to Sadr had put the Shi'ite-led government's future at risk.

The Sadrists, who have demanded a timetable for the withdrawal of the U S-led forces from Iraq, rejected reports they had already agreed to return to the fold.

''We haven't received any instructions to go back to the parliament or the government,'' said Nassar al-Rubaei, the head of the Sadrist bloc in parliament, though he did acknowledge that talks were in progress with other Shi'ite groups.

Najaf, Iraq's holiest city for the majority Shi'ites, is the seat of the country's most senior Shi'ite clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who eschews the overt political engagement of fellow ayatollahs in Iran but has nonetheless been at the heart of Iraqi politics since 2003.

It is also the home of the shrine of Imam Ali, whose death in the seventh century caused the great schism in Islam between Shi'ites and Sunnis.

The United Alliance, built around Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki's Dawa party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Sadr's movement, was largely created to fight elections under Sistani's auspices.

Officials in the Alliance said top leaders would head to Najaf within two days to meet various religious leaders and seek their help in uniting the Shi'ite factions.

''We are worried about this situation now. We want to reach a complete deal on all the pending issues '' said Haidar al-Ibadi from the Alliance. ''There will be a total review of the Alliance and the government's situation,'' he said.

''The delegation will include the top Alliance leaders and they are expected to be there in the next 48 hours,'' Ibadi said.

Members of the Alliance say they have been pushing Maliki to go after the Shi'ite militia loyal to Sadr, which Sunni Arab and U S officials accuse of running sectarian death squads responsible for dozens of killings every day.

''The status quo can not continue. The Sadrists have to make up their minds whether to be in the government, and if they want to, they should work with it,'' said another Alliance official.

Shi'ite officials say it is rogue elements in the Mehdi Army who are responsible for killings, kidnapping and torture.

The Sadrists deny charges the Mehdi Army runs death squads, but Alliance sources said it was now a serious threat to the government and the Alliance risks losing everything.

''This is damaging to everything we have worked for in past years, since we were in opposition,'' said a senior Alliance source.

''We will not allow our efforts and the sacrifices of our people to be destroyed because of some irresponsible acts.'' The Shi'ites, long oppressed under Saddam Hussein, came to power after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. They now form the largest bloc in parliament and are the main force in a unity government that also includes Kurds and Sunni Arabs.

Sources close to Sadr said that he was in a ''retreat'' and he may not meet the delegation. But Ibadi said that the understanding was that he would meet the delegation.

Maliki's government has struggled to crack down on militias or improve public services since it was formed seven months ago.

Amid criticism that some ministries are little more than political party fiefdoms, Maliki has announced he plans a major cabinet reshuffle to make his government more effective.

''The leaders are seeking to reactivate the political process.

There should be an effective and strong government reshuffle,'' said Ibadi.

Reuters SY DB2125