BAGHDAD- Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his Shi’ite militias to defy the Baghdad government’s surrender order, and his followers say they are fighting on against Iraqi troops.

Sadr told fighters in the Mehdi Army and other Shi’ite groups to keep their weapons until Iraq has a government that will expel U.S. forces from the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says Sadr’s gunmen are a worse threat to Iraq than al-Qaida terrorists.  He ordered Iraq forces to press their drive against Shi’ite fighters in the city of Basra, Iraq’s port for oil shipments through the Gulf. 

A major military operation is under way in Basra, with U.S. warplanes and teams of coalition soldiers on the ground supporting Iraqi troops.

The U.S. military reported that Iraqi soldiers killed 22 suspected militants Saturday in Basra.  The military also released details of another battle Saturday in Suwayrah, 40 kilometers south of Baghdad, where Iraqi and U.S. ground forces killed 13 suspected militants. Officials said two multinational force soldiers were killed Saturday when a bomb struck their vehicle in eastern Baghdad. 

More than 250 people have been killed since Tuesday in Basra and other Shi’ite areas of the country.  Some of the heaviest casualties have been in Baghdad’s Sadr City district, where American troops are fighting alongside Iraqi units.

An around-the-clock curfew in Baghdad since Thursday has been extended until further notice.

Mr. Maliki says government forces will remain in Basra until security is restored there, and until those who have been fighting Iraqi troops are punished.  His order for militant fighters to hand over their weapons had been due to expire Sunday, but he has extended the offer until April eighth and promised cash payments to those who comply. 

Source:  VOA News