Followers of Iraq's Sadr lay low, follow orders

BAGHDAD, Aug 30 (Reuters) Armed followers of Moqtada al-Sadr stayed off the streets today after the Iraqi Shi'ite cleric's surprise announcement that he was suspending all operations by his feared Mehdi Army militia.

In Baghdad, the black-clad militiamen who normally man checkpoints around the Sadr City stronghold of the anti-American cleric were nowhere to be seen.

More than a dozen militia members in several parts of Iraq told Reuters they would obey the order, including an instruction they refrain from all ''armed action'' for up to six months.

But many said they would fight US troops if provoked.

''It is a big and tough decision ... We have never been in a situation like this before,'' said Abu Hazim, a Mehdi Army commander, as he drank tea at his home in Sadr City.

''It will be hard to stand still with our hands tied when we are attacked or arrested by Americans.'' Ahmed al-Shaibani, a senior Sadr aide, warned US forces not to take advantage of the order. Another senior aide said the suspension might last only a week if American and Iraqi forces did not stop detaining the cleric's followers.

''We say to the Americans, don't be happy. The resistance does not end,'' Shaibani said without elaborating when asked if the order meant there would be no attacks on US forces.

US troops have raided Sadr City repeatedly in past weeks, targeting Mehdi Army members they say have links to Iran.

Sadr's armed militia has thousands of members who control neighbourhoods throughout Iraq, manning checkpoints and collecting dues from businesses in return for protection.

His decision yesterday to suspend the militia's activity followed gun battles involving Mehdi Army fighters during a Shi'ite pilgrimage this week in which dozens were killed.

The order has been cautiously welcomed by the U.S. military and the Iraqi government.

''CROOKED LEADERS'' But it remains to be seen how it will play out on the ground. US forces have long said many attacks against them and against Iraqi security forces are the work of ''rogue'' Mehdi Army groups, who may not operate under the cleric's full control.

Abu Ali, another Mehdi Army commander in Sadr City, said the suspension order would expose corrupt leaders.

''There are some bad leaders in the Mehdi Army who should have been replaced a long time ago ... Through this order the corrupt elements will show their faces, because they will not comply,'' he said.

Whether or not their groups report to Sadr, Mehdi Army members say they revere him personally as the living representative of a powerful dynasty of Shi'ite leaders.

Sadr City, home to 2 million Shi'ites in Baghdad, is named after his father Mohammad Mohammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a grand ayatollah murdered along with two of Moqtada's brothers in 1999.

The faces of the elder and younger Sadrs are posted on the walls of Sadr's followers' offices throughout Iraq.

''Our obedience to our religious leaders is sacred,'' said Abu Mustafa al-Basri, a commander in Diwaniya in southern Iraq.

In Basra, the southern oil centre where British troops are withdrawing and Sadr loyalists are fighting other militia for control, Mehdi Army member Adil Sari, 29, said the group would follow its leader's orders to the letter.

''If he ordered us to freeze the army's activity, then we believe that it is in its interest,'' he said.

But if US or British troops take advantage of the order to attack, Mehdi Army members will defend themselves.

''The occupation forces should be careful before attacking our area, because they would see hell,'' he said.

REUTERS PD VC1936