Shi'ite militia lies low in Baghdad, hides weapons

BAGHDAD, Feb 15 (Reuters) Just a few weeks ago, Shi'ite militiamen toting AK-47 assault rifles roamed the streets of an eastern Baghdad slum, manned makeshift checkpoints and in the eyes of many residents, protected them from Sunni insurgents.

But as a US-Iraqi offensive against militants in Baghdad cranks up, some of those militiamen from the Mehdi Army of anti -American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have left their Baghdad stronghold. Others have hidden their weapons.

It's the clearest sign yet that the militia will not stand and fight should US and Iraqi forces blanket the Mehdi Army's base in Sadr City with patrols and raids.

''We have been given orders by our commanders to disarm and welcome the security forces,'' said Abu Ruqeya, a Mehdi militiaman standing unarmed on a Sadr City street today.

''Our enemy has always been the occupier, but as long as our leadership tells us to welcome the Baghdad security plan, then we will ensure it succeeds.'' Washington calls the Mehdi Army, which rose up against American forces twice in 2004, the biggest threat to Iraq's security. US officials and Sunni Arab leaders accuse it of being behind many of the sectarian killings in Iraq.

But some Shi'ite officials say the militia wants to avoid a battle to protect Sadr's political gains. Sadr's movement holds a quarter of the parliamentary seats in the ruling Shi'ite Alliance of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Salam al-Maliki, a senior Sadr official, said most of the militia remained in Baghdad but some had left, fearing arrest.

''Some of the brothers who are wanted by the Americans have moved house because we've been targeted before. But our movement is more than a million strong, our leadership is in the hundreds, it would be absurd for all of them to leave,'' he said.

In recent months, US forces have killed or detained hundreds of people from Sadr's movement in Iraq.

Sunni insurgents meanwhile are often blamed for major car and truck bombings against Shi'ites that kill scores.

The lower profile of the Mehdi Army in Baghdad coincides with conflicting reports over the whereabouts of Sadr himself.

Sadr officials insist he is in Iraq. The US military says he is in Iran, possibly fearing for his safety.

NO AREA OFF LIMITS The Baghdad offensive is seen as a last-ditch attempt to prevent all-out sectarian civil war in Iraq.

Critics say past crackdowns failed partly because the prime minister did not target Shi'ite militias such as the Mehdi Army.

This time, militants would be targeted regardless of their religious affiliation, the prime minister has said.

A US military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, said there were plans to establish at least one so- called joint security station in Sadr City, where American and Iraqi forces will live side-by-side.

Such stations are being set up across Baghdad to show residents that forces will not just sweep a neighbourhood and then leave.

While exhausted Iraqis are deeply sceptical the crackdown will improve security, many are ready to give it a chance.

''We accept this plan ... We needed the Mehdi Army before because they were able to fill a security vacuum,'' said one Sadr City resident, who only gave his name as Fawzi.

Some analysts say groups like the Mehdi Army intend to wait out the offensive and return when it eventually winds down.

Chief US military spokesman Major-General William Caldwell, speaking yesterday, said the aim was to restore security and revive the economy so militants would not be welcome back.

''If the security has been truly established and if we have the Iraqi police back in control of the neighborhoods ... the possibilities of these groups coming back in is greatly diminished,'' he said.

REUTERS SP RN1941