'I will die to see Iraq free' :
Imam Muqtada al-Sadr left the sanctuary of a mosque in Kufa for the holy city of Najaf where he issued a statement urging his followers to fight the coalition.
'America has shown its evil intentions, and the proud Iraqi people cannot accept it. They must defend their rights by any means they see fit,' Sadr said in a statement.
Sheikh Qays al-Khaz’ali, said yesterday that the Al-Sadr had moved to his main office, in the nearby city of Najaf.
Dozens of armed militiamen were outside the Najaf office yesterday, located in a small alley near Shiism’s holiest site, the golden-domed shrine of Imam Ali. The black-garbed gunmen, some carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers, crowded the narrow alley and roamed nearby streets. There was no way to confirm reports that Sadr was inside.
Asked if Sadr will resist if US forces come to arrest him, Sheikh Khaz’ali replied: "God forbid if this happens, al-Sadr will win martyrdom". Sheikh Khaz’ali quoted Sadr as saying: "My fate will be either assassination or arrest."
A move from Kufa to Najaf would be an unusual move. Sadr is widely unpopular in Najaf, where most Shiites support older, more moderate clerics. By contrast, his al-Mahdi army has been in virtual control of Kufa since Sunday, holding the police station and patrolling the streets. The main mosque in Kufa has high, fortress-like walls.
In a statement released earlier by his office, Sadr said he was moving to avoid bloodshed in the Kufa mosque. "I feared that the sanctity of a glorious and esteemed mosque would be violated by scum and evil people," he said. The Americans "will have no qualms to embark on such actions". "I have pledged not to allow a drop of blood to be shed except my own," Sadr said. "I’m prepared to have my own blood shed for what is holy to me."
He also denounced the US president, George Bush, who said on Monday that Sadr wanted to wreck democracy in Iraq.
"I would like to direct my words to the father of evil, Bush," Sadr said. "Who is against democracy? Is it the one who calls for peaceful resistance or the one who bombs people, sheds their blood and leads them away from the leaders under feeble and dirty pretexts?"
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