Monday, April 7, 2008
Hundreds flee Baghdad
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BAGHDAD - Hundreds of people fled fighting in Baghdad's Shiite militia stronghold Monday as U.S. and Iraqi forces increased pressure on anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who faces an ultimatum to either disband his Mahdi Army or give up politics.
Al-Sadr's aides said he would only dismantle the powerful militia if ordered by top Shiite clerics — who have remained silent throughout the increasingly dangerous showdown.
Although al-Sadr holds considerable influence through the Mahdi fighters — estimated at up to 60,000 — political exile for his movement would shatter his dream of becoming the major power broker among the country's Shiite majority.
Gunbattles raged around the sprawling Sadr City district that serves as the Baghdad nerve center of the Mahdi militia, which has been under siege since last week by about 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops.
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