By Mariam Karouny and Tim Cocks
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr extendedhis Mehdi Army militia's ceasefire by six months on Friday, adecision U.S. officials said would help reconciliation amongIraq's divided communities.
The renewal was welcomed by the Iraqi and U.S. governments,which say the initial six-month truce has helped reduce attackson U.S. and Iraqi troops and the tit-for-tat sectarian violencethat pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war.
In a statement, the U.S. military said it was ready fordialogue with Sadr's movement, which opposes the American trooppresence in Iraq. Sadr led his militia in two uprisings againstU.S. forces in 2004.
White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said it was a positivestep "to the extent that this will help reduce the violence".
Sadr's decision could prove vital in determining whethersecurity gains can be maintained, allowing the United States tocontinue withdrawing soldiers beyond the figure of more than20,000 due to leave by July. There are about 155,000 U.S.soldiers in Iraq.
Several Mehdi Army members interviewed by Reuters expressedunhappiness with Sadr's order, which they believed would exposethem to attack by U.S. forces, but said they would obey.
"We knew there would be an extension of the freeze, but wethought it would be for a shorter period and we expected to beallowed to act in self-defence against U.S. forces. Now, afterthis statement, we can't defend ourselves," said Amer al-Moussawi, a Mehdi Army member in the Shi'ite holy city ofNajaf.
The U.S. military says the Mehdi Army contributed tosectarian violence with Iraq's Sunni Arab minority in 2006 and2007, and at one time called the militia the most seriousthreat to peace in the country, a description it now uses foral Qaeda.
The extension was announced two years to the day aftersuspected al Qaeda militants bombed a Shi'ite shrine in thetown of Samarra, an event that led to a wave of revenge attackson Sunni Arabs by the Mehdi Army.
MID-AUGUST
"We have extended the freezing of activities of the MehdiArmy," said Asaad al-Naseri, a preacher at a mosque in the holyShi'ite town of Kufa, reading a statement by Sadr.
Naseri said the renewal would last until mid-August.
A senior Sadrist said the reclusive cleric, who has rarelyappeared in public in the past year, had renewed the truce sorogue members of the Mehdi Army could continue to be weededout.
Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh praised Sadr's move.
"I hope this suspension will culminate in the ultimatedissolution of armed groups," Saleh told Reuters by telephone.
The U.S. military said in a statement the truce extensionwould allow security forces to focus on combating al Qaeda.
"It will also foster a better opportunity for nationalreconciliation ... We also welcome an opportunity toparticipate in dialogue with the Sadr (movement) and all groupswho seek to bring about reconciliation in building the newIraq," it said.
Many Mehdi Army members and Sadrist political leaderswanted the truce to be scrapped, saying it was being exploitedby Iraqi and U.S. forces to arrest Sadrists, especially insouthern Iraq, where rival Shi'ite factions are vying fordominance.
Sadr called the truce after deadly clashes in late Augustbetween his militia, Iraqi forces and the Supreme Islamic IraqiCouncil (SIIC), a rival Shi'ite faction, in the city ofKerbala.
Some analysts had said Sadr would be forced to renew theceasefire given higher U.S. troop levels in Iraq, a move bysome Sunni Arab insurgents to stop fighting and anger inShi'ite areas at criminal activities by groups using themilitia's name.
"For the time being, the cost of declaring an all-out waron (SIIC) and the United States is far too high," PeterHarling, a Damascus-based analyst with the International CrisisGroup think-tank, told Reuters by telephone.
(Additional reporting by Ross Colvin and Wisam Mohammed inBaghdad and Khaled Farhan in Kufa; Writing by Dean Yates andRoss Colvin; Editing by Andrew Dobbie)
