Five Iraqis were killed and seven others were injured due to clashes in Najaf between protestors and followers of the Shiite Cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, said Wednesday Iraqi police sources. The sources said the clashes took place due to disagreement between Al-Sadr's followers and the protestors regarding renovating the old part of Najaf. On the other hand, Al-Sadr's followers accused the police of causing deaths and injuries by Iraq's Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said authorities have sent special-forces and army units to contain the situation as ordered by Premier Ibrahim Al-Jafari to seal off all Najaf's entrances and implement the curfew starting at 11 p.m. tonight. The adversaries, added Jabr, will be gathered to settle the matter once and for all, adding that Iraq's government refuses such actions. In statements to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), some of the city's residents said the protestors had set fire in the office of the martyr Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Al-Sadr, father of Muqatada, but the fire has not been verified by Al-Sadr's followers.
In a similar development, armed confrontations broke out in Baghdad between Al-Sadr's followers and members of Badr Corps, part of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). According to witnesses, the followers of Al-Sadr launched attacks against Badr Corps offices in different areas of Baghdad.