Radical Cleric Accepts Najaf Peace Plan
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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday calling for his militiamen to disarm and leave their hideout in a revered Shiite shrine, raising hopes of ending a battle that has threatened to undermine Iraq's fledgling interim government.    But gunfire and explosions crackled across Najaf after the deal was announced and there was no indication of whether there could be a quick end to two weeks of fighting between al-Sadr's forces and U.S...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed Thursday to a peace deal presented by Iraq's top Shiite cleric, who brought his enormous authority to bear in an attempt to end three weeks of fighting in the holy city of Najaf, a top al-Sistani aide said.    Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential cleric among Iraq's Shiite majority, reached the deal in direct talks with al-Sadr in the evening, only hours after making a dramatic return to Najaf...
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Iraqi delegates to a conference choosing a national assembly said Wednesday that radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had agreed to demands to end an uprising in the holy city of Najaf.
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Iraq&#39;s leading Shiite Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, will present a three-point plan to end fighting in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf when he arrives there today, Agence France-Presse reported.
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WASHINGTON  The Bush administration reacted cautiously Wednesday to reports that the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had accept a peace plan to end fighting in Najaf.
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NAJAF, Iraq - Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, made a dramatic return to Najaf on Thursday and swiftly won agreement from a rebel cleric and the government to end three weeks of fighting between his militia and U.S.-Iraqi forces.    The renegade Muqtada al-Sadr accepted the proposal in a face-to-face meeting Thursday night with the 75-year-old al-Sistani...
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NAJAF (Iraq): With a peace plan, reached with the mutual consent of Sistani and Sadr, the apex Clerics of Iraq, the gates of the holy Shrine in Najaf were got open Thursday by a sea of weeping and chanting Muslims, ending the weeks-long siege of the
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NAJAF, Iraq - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr accepted a peace plan Wednesday for Najaf that would disarm his militiamen and remove them from a holy shrine where they are hiding out, according to a spokesman. However, Al-Sadr wanted to negotiate how the deal would be implemented...
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Rebel Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will remain a free man after he agreed a peace deal to end an uprising in the holy city of Najaf, Minister of State Kasim Daoud told a news conference early Friday.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric made a  sudden return to the country Wednesday and said he had a plan  to end an uprising in the "burning city" of Najaf, where  fighting is creeping ever closer to its holiest shrine.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - A delegation of Iraqis arrived in Najaf on helicopters Tuesday to present radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr with a peace proposal aimed at ending the violent insurgency wracking the holy city.    The peace proposal, cobbled together Iraq's National Conference in Baghdad, demanded that al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia put down its arms and join Iraq's political process in exchange for amnesty...
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NAJAF, Iraq - Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters to lay down their arms and leave Najaf and neighboring Kufa Friday after agreeing to a peace deal brokered by Iraq's top spiritual leader to end three weeks of bloody fighting.    Al-Sadr issued the order in a statement to his Mahdi Army militia that also was broadcast through loudspeakers at the revered Imam Ali Shrine, which militants have used as a stronghold and refuge throughout their standoff with a combined U.S.-Iraqi force...
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27 August 2004 -- A deal has been reached to end three weeks of unrest in the Iraqi holy city of Al-Najaf when Iraq&#39;s top Shi&#39;ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, reached an agreement with radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
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Najaf - Iraq&#39;s most revered Shi&#39;a leader persuaded a rebel cleric to accept a deal ending a three-week uprising in this holy city on Thursday, after returning amid bloody clashes that killed at least 74 people.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - A radical cleric prepared to hand  control of a shrine at the heart of a Shi'ite uprising in Iraq  to religious authorities on Friday, but still rejected demands  by the interim prime minister to disband his militia.
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Iraq&#39;s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, made a dramatic return to Najaf on Thursday and swiftly won agreement from a rebel cleric and the government to end three weeks of fighting between his militia and US-Iraqi forces.
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The Bush administration reacted cautiously Wednesday to reports that the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had accept a peace plan to end fighting in Najaf.