Sadr is accused by Hawza of being "rash"

By Aws Al-Sharqy, IOL Correspondent

BAGHDAD, September 14 (IslamOnline.net) – The Iraqi interim government has accused Shiite leader Muqtada Al-Sadr of killing many people found in mass graves in the holy city of Najaf, while followers of the anti-US firebrand dismissed the charges, insisting the bodies belonged to fellow fighters killed by US forces during the latest bloody face off.

More than 200 bodies, including women and children as well as policemen, were found buried in the Old Park of the holy city, Minister of State for Army Affairs Qassem Dawoud said Monday, September 13.

Dawoud said the deaths were executed by the religious court of Sadr, which stopped functioning when his militia returned control of Najaf's Old City to Iraqi police late last month.

"Twenty eight bodies mostly policemen were found in the Najaf Sea, where information says they were detained and buried by Sadr loyalists," said Ghalib Al-Jazairy, the chief of Najaf police.

The court was seen as a symbol of the power Sadr followers once wielded when they were controlling the city.

Investigations

Minister of State for Provinces Affairs Wael Abdel-Latif confirmed the claim, as the Iraqi government declared it would send a special team to the city for more investigations.

"A criminal investigation has opened into circumstances over the deaths of 25 people, whose bodies were found torn down and bearing signs of torture in the dome of the religious court," said Sabah Kazem, the Iraqi interior minister’s press advisor.

However, controversy is still simmering over the identity of the culprits.

Najaf police chief said the bodies belong to a number of policemen abducted and executed by the Sadr militiamen during the fierce clashes between Iraqi forces in the August clashes.

But the followers of Sadr dismissed the claims, saying the bodies are all of militiamen killed during the fighting but could not be buried amidst the exchange of fire.

But Allawi retorted aggressively, saying the bodies were shredded and it was clear the deaths occurred before the August crisis in the city, something he said was quite sure given his earlier job as a doctor.

On September 10, the Arabic-language news network Al-Jazeera reported the four police officers' kidnappings in Najaf.

Horror Stories

However, residents of Najaf are now sharing horror stories of the work of the Sadr court against their relatives.

A rumor says many individuals are still missing since they were taken by Sadr militiamen during last month’s crisis.

"I have seen Iranian and Afghan members as part of this court," Ahmed Al-Kufy, a 36-year-old craftsman, told IslamOnline.net.

Harith Al-Gashamy was of the same mind.

Putting it more trenchantly, he said: "Members of Sadr Army were mainly concerned with abducting local individuals for ransom."

Demos

This came as demonstrations continue for the second week in a row, with local inhabitants shouting down Sadr and his militia to leave the city due to their reported atrocities.

The hawza, top Shiite religious authority, has condemned the practices of the Mehdi Army, saying in a statement released last week that Sadr is a "rash" person and blaming him for "leaving Najaf in ruins and "violating holy places" there.

On August 27, Sadr ordered his militiamen to disarm and leave Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, as part of a deal that also called for US forces to withdraw from the holy city.

The deal was brokered by Iraq 's most revered religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani who made a dramatic return to Najaf and persuaded Sadr to accept his peace initiative after an intense day in which at least 76 Iraqis were killed in mortar attacks in one day.