Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered a six-month suspension of activities by his Mahdi Army militia in Iraq in order to reorganise the force, and it will no longer attack US and coalition troops.
Ahmed al-Shaibani
An aide, Sheik Hazim al-Araji, said on Iraqi state television that the goal was to "rehabilitate" the organisation, which has reportedly broken into factions, some of which the US maintains are trained and supplied by Iran.
"We declare the freezing of the Mahdi Army without exception in order to rehabilitate it in a way that will safeguard its ideological image within a maximum period of six months starting from the day this statement is issued," al-Araji said, reading from a statement by al-Sadr.
In Najaf, al-Sadr's spokesman said the order also means the Mahdi Army will no longer launch attacks against US and other coalition forces.
"It also includes suspending the taking up of arms against occupiers as well as others," Ahmed al-Shaibani told reporters.
Asked if Mahdi militiamen would defend themselves against provocations, he replied: "We will deal with it when it happens."
Tensions have been rising in southern Iraq as rival Shia groups maneuver for power, especially in the oil-rich area around Basra, Iraq's second-largest city.
Al-Sadr organised the Mahdi Army shortly after the US-led invasion in 2003.
Since then the Mahdi Army has become the most active and feared armed Shia group, blamed by the US for driving thousands of Sunnis from their homes in retaliation for Sunni extremist attacks on Shia civilians.
The Mahdi Army launched two major uprisings against US and coalition forces in 2004. Since then, the Americans have differentiated between the mainstream Sadrist organization and what they term "rogue" elements within the force that have staged numerous deadly attacks against US forces in Baghdad and elsewhere.