Militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led an April uprising that left hundreds dead, called Iraq's new interim government "illegitimate" and pledged to resist occupation forces to the "last drop of blood."
The cleric's comments apparently reversed earlier conciliatory statements he made to the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Members of al-Sadr's movement had also suggested they might transform their militia into a political party.
| Sounds like he didn't get his way on something... |
"We pledge to the Iraqi people and the world to continue resisting oppression and occupation to our last drop of blood," al-Sadr said in a statement distributed Sunday by his office in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, where his al-Mahdi militia battled American troops until a cease-fire last month. "Resistance is a legitimate right and not a crime to be punished," he said. Previously, Al-Mahdi fighters accepted cease-fires in most Shiite areas after suffering huge losses at the hands of the Americans.
| Maybe he figures he'll do better at the hands of the Iraqis... |
However, in his statement Sunday, the young cleric said, "There is no truce with the occupier and those who cooperate with it. We announce that the current government is illegitimate and illegal. It's generally following the occupation. We demand complete sovereignty and independence by holding honest elections."
| "... And if we don't win, we know they're not honest!" |
On June 12, al-Sadr issued a statement saying he was ready for a dialogue with the new government if it worked to end the U.S. military presence. |