Iraqi PM orders freeze on raids.

This is from AFP. Maliki has changed his tune within 24 hours, no doubt because otherwise he will be in deep trouble unable to defeat Sadr in Basra and elsewhere. The mantra about giving the militia time to lay down their arms is simply a face-saving device. They will not use them until Sadr says to do so but they are not about to hand them over to the government as Maliki wants. If Maliki wants peace he will have to get used to the fact that Sadr is building up his power base and could do exceedingly well in elections in the fall.


Iraqi PM orders freeze on raids
1 hour ago

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Friday ordered his forces to stop raids across Iraq to allow time for those wanting to surrender their weapons in the wake of fierce clashes with Shiite fighters.

"To give a chance to those who wish to lay down their arms, all raids and search operations will be stopped in all areas," Maliki said in a statement released by his office.

Reiterating a similar order issued earlier this week, Maliki, however, ordered his forces to "chase those who have returned to arms."

Maliki had on Tuesday ordered his security forces to stop random arrests and raids in Shiite areas after clashes between his forces and Shiite fighters subsided in the southern oil port of Basra, in Baghdad and in other regions.

The clashes erupted after Maliki ordered a crackdown on Shiite militants, mostly from the Mahdi Army of radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

During the assaults, in which more than 460 people were killed, Maliki gave an April 8 deadline to residents of Basra to hand over heavy and medium weapons in return for cash in a bid to cut the supply of weapons to the militiamen.

The firefights in Basra and other areas died down after Sadr ordered his fighters off the streets but demanded that the government stop random arrests of his followers.

In his latest order, Maliki told the security forces to "guarantee the safety of those who have surrendered their arms from the perpetrators of violence."

He also urged them to help the families displaced during the violence and promised compensation for their losses.