by Hassan Abdul Zahra
1 hour, 35 minutes ago
NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) - In a fresh blow to Iraq's embattled political process, hardline Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's group said on Sunday it will boycott October elections which Washington sees as critical to stabilising the country.
The decision comes two days after the powerful anti-American cleric decided to restructure his feared Mahdi Army militia and ahead of an expected military assault on his militiamen in the southern Shiite province of Maysan.
"The Sadr group will not take part in the (provincial) elections as we did in the parliamentary election," said Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for Sadr in the holy city of Najaf.
"This is the decision as of now by Moqtada and the Sadrists. We want to avoid making the same mistakes of being part of the sectarian divisions."
Iraq is due to hold elections on October 1 in its 18 provinces, a key benchmark set by Washington to stabilise the war-torn country by giving more power to local provincial councils, especially for economic projects.
The Sadr group has 32 lawmakers in the 275-member parliament and the latest decision is seen as a step to consolidate its image as a nationalist and anti-American movement.
It is also thought that by boycotting the elections Sadr is aiming to retain his Mahdi Army militia, which has an estimated 60,000 fighters.
After launching a crackdown on the Mahdi Army in the main southern port city and oil hub of Basra in March, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to ban any political party with militias from participating in the provincial election.
But the Sadr group said its anti-American stance was behind the decision.
"The (US) occupation is one of the reasons for not participating in the elections," said Liwa Sumaysim, head of the Sadr movement's political bureau.
"We believe that the occupiers are interfering in the work of the councils when it comes to reconstruction of projects and their funding."
The group will, however, support independent candidates.
"By backing independents we believe we can serve the citizens better," said Sumaysim.
Iraq's own presidency had initially objected to a contested provincial elections law passed in February on the grounds that some aspects of the legislation contradicted the Iraqi constitution.
The latest decision by Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, came after he said on Friday that he plans to form a new militia wing to battle US forces, allowing other members to focus on social issues.
The fight against US troops will now be waged only by the new group, while other members will "take on a social and religious role", he said.
Sunday's announcement came ahead of a planned assault by security forces on rebels in Maysan province and primarily in its capital Amara.
Maliki has given a four-day deadline to Shiite militiamen to surrender their arms in return for cash by June 18.
Sadr's chief spokesman Salah al-Obeidi voiced concern that the Amara assault would target Sadrists.
"We have big fears that this campaign could be directed against Sadrists," Obeidi said. We do not want Basra events to be repeated in Amara."
Hundreds of people were killed in fighting in Basra and in other Shiite parts of Iraq including Sadr's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City after operations against militias began in March.
Iraqi and US forces have been pouring into Amara since Saturday, and on Sunday troops were seen near the Sadr office, an AFP correspondent reported.
British troops transferred security control of Maysan to Iraqi forces in April 2007, but peace in the province, and Amara in particular, has remained fragile, with intense Shiite infighting.
Iraqi ministry of defence spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the Maysan crackdown was to "disarm them (militias) and give government buildings back to the government."
Several state properties in Shiite regions have been seized by militias in the last few years.
Six people were killed Sunday in insurgent attacks across Iraq.
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