Iraq's prime minister raised the stakes in his showdown with followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, saying in an interview broadcast on Monday they would be barred from elections unless their militia disbands.The comments followed raids on Sunday by security forces into the cleric's Baghdad stronghold, the slum of Sadr City, which brought heavy fighting back to the capital after a week of relative calm when Sadr called his militia off the streets.
U.S. forces reported two more deaths across Iraq on Sunday, bringing the single day toll to seven, making it one of the deadliest days for American troops since the arrival of extra forces last year reduced violence over the second half of 2007.
"Solving the problem comes in no other way than dissolving the Mehdi Army," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in an interview with CNN. "They no longer have a right to participate in the political process or take part in the upcoming elections unless they end the Mehdi Army."
It was the first time Maliki has singled out Sadr's Mehdi Army militia by name and ordered it to disband. He said government troops would continue a crackdown -- first launched in the southern city of Basra late last month -- in Sadr City.
"We have opened the door for confrontation, a real confrontation with these gangs, and we will not stop until we are in full control of these areas."
Sadr spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi rejected the ultimatum: "No one can intervene in the Mehdi Army; only those who established it and the religious leaders," he said.
The renewed conflict risks undoing some of the security gains of the past year's so-called U.S. "surge" of additional troops.
"If the fight shifts to Baghdad and the Sadrists go for the bait and expose themselves to American attacks, everything will change. There will be more attacks and the surge will be over," said Joost Hiltermann of the International Crisis Group.
The ultimatum comes at a sensitive time, just two days before Sadr has called a million followers onto the streets of the capital for a mass anti-U.S. protest, and a day before the top U.S. officials in Baghdad are due to report to Congress.
The U.S. military commander, General David Petraeus, is expected to recommend a pause in withdrawing U.S. troops once an initial cut of 20,000 troops is completed in July.
Sunday's fighting, the worst in the capital since Sadr withdrew his fighters from the streets a week ago, continued into Monday with sporadic fighting in Sadr City.
"The Iraqis are taking sporadic gunfire and rocket-propelled grenade fire but we haven't heard about any reports of pitched battles or casualties. They're just firing at the Iraqis and us," said U.S. spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Stover.
DEEPENING DIVIDE
The deaths of two more U.S. soldiers raised the total for Sunday to seven killed, including three killed and 31 wounded in two attacks using mortars or missiles in Baghdad.
One of those strikes killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded 17 inside the heavily fortified Green Zone government compound.
Sadr's followers are due this year to participate for the first time in elections for powerful provincial government posts and are poised to win control of southern cities from less-popular Shi'ite parties that back Maliki.
Mustafa Alani of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre said one of Maliki's goals was to sideline political rivals ahead of the vote: "Obviously, this is the liquidation of parties ahead of provincial elections."
Hiltermann said the crackdown could put the election itself in jeopardy, which could suit Maliki: "He has no interest in the election taking place because he will not do well."
Maliki's crackdown on the Mehdi Army in Basra late last month triggered uprisings across Baghdad and southern Iraq, home to most of the country's oil output. Although government forces made little headway, Sadr called his militia off the streets.
"Quagmire!"
But U.S. and Iraqi forces have continued to surround Sadr City. Iraqi forces moved into southern parts of the Baghdad slum on Sunday. Hospital sources said at least 25 people died and more than 90 were wounded in the days fighting.
On Saturday, Maliki received the backing from Iraq's major parties apart from the Sadrists for a statement calling for all militia to disarm. It did not mention the Mehdi Army by name.
Sadr formed the Mehdi Army in 2003 after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The militia