Fear of uprising as Shia groups clash in Najaf and Baghdad

IRAQ: Fighting broke out in Baghdad and the holy city of Najaf yesterday between rival Shia militias, raising fears of a renewed…

IRAQ: Fighting broke out in Baghdad and the holy city of Najaf yesterday between rival Shia militias, raising fears of a renewed uprising by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi army against the US-backed government.

At least eight people were killed and dozens wounded, health officials said, in street battles in Najaf involving pro-government Badr Organisation fighters and supporters of al-Sadr, who has joined Sunni Arabs in denouncing a constitution the Shia-led government is preparing to force through parliament.

The head of the Badr Organisation denied it was involved.

The interior minister dispatched police commandos to Najaf and announced a curfew in the city on state television.

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A spokesman for al-Sadr warned of a "general call to arms" unless rival groups apologised for what he called attacks on al-Sadr's office in Najaf. His Mehdi Army was banned after US troops crushed two uprisings last year, but it has not disarmed.

Iraq's health minister, an al- Sadr supporter, said eight people were killed when a protest outside the movement's office in Najaf turned violent. He said he would suspend his role in the government until he was satisfied they had dealt with the issue.

Later, Baghdad police said armed al-Sadr followers attacked offices of the Badr Organisation, allied to a powerful Shia Islamist party in the ruling coalition, in three Shia districts. Witnesses said at least one office had been occupied.

In the southern city of Basra, witnesses said about 300 armed men loyal to al-Sadr had gathered outside his office.

Earlier in the day, Sunni Arab insurgents had fought police in the streets of Baghdad, in the most brazen infantry attack they have launched in the capital for weeks, after Sunni leaders warned the adoption of the constitution could lead to civil war.

Witnesses said up to 500 armed men loyal to al-Sadr had gathered around his Najaf office following battles that broke out after dark in the city, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad.

Al-Sadr's spokesman blamed the violence on the police and "another group", an apparent reference to the Badr Organisation, which is tied to the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), a key element of the coalition government.

Iraqi interior minister Bayan Jabor, a SCIRI member, said he had sent police commandos to Najaf and a curfew would be imposed from 11pm (1900 GMT).

"We call on everyone not to violate the security of all cities in Iraq and make the cities unsafe," Jabor said.

Rivalries have emerged among Shia groups ahead of a constitutional referendum in October and an election scheduled for December.

The government has disappointed the hopes of many in the Shia majority who had expected rapid improvements in their security and prosperity after decades of Sunni dominance.

Al-Sadr, young for such an influential cleric, derives strength from poor Shias and his late cleric father's religious aura.

An outspoken Iraqi nationalist, he has maintained political ties with leaders of the Sunnis, and his followers join Sunnis in criticising SCIRI and other formerly exiled pro-government groups for being too close to non-Arab, Shia Iran.

Meanwhile, heavy fighting broke out between insurgents and police in western Baghdad yesterday, police and witnesses said. Police said 10 civilians and three policemen were killed.

Also in Baghdad, a deputy of the Iraqi justice minister, Yosha Ibrahim, escaped assassination, but four of his guards were killed and five others wounded.

Four Iraqis were killed and seven wounded when gunmen attacked their bus in Khalis, 75km (46 miles) north of Baquba. Police said the dead were pilgrims returning from a visit to holy shrines in Iran.

In Baquba, 65km (40miles) northeast of Baghdad, four mortar rounds landed on a base used by the Iraqi police's "rapid reaction force".

An Iraqi soldier was killed and another wounded when two mortars landed on a checkpoint at Musayyib, south of Baghdad, on Tuesday, police said.