Word: shying
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...Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr today called for an end to the fighting between his followers and Iraqi forces in the escalating conflict that has engulfed the southern city of Basra. In a statement issued from his headquarters in Najaf, al-Sadr demanded, in return, that the government give his supporters amnesty and release any followers that are being held...
...Jaberi, saying he was speaking on Sadr's behalf, urged fighters in Basra not to surrender their weapons unless it was to a government committed to expelling U.S. troops from Iraq. That defiance echoed the statements of a commander of one Shi'ite Islamist group in Basra, who told TIME that his fighters were prepared to use suicide tactics to defend Basra from the "occupier...
...well. Saturday, during a televised meeting with tribal leaders in Basra, he accused enemy fighters in Basra of being "worse than al-Qaeda." It was an inflammatory and ironic statement, since the militia, in addition to its attacks on Sunni civilians and its criminal activities, has often defended Shi'ites from Sunni terrorists when the government proved powerless...
...strikes appear to indicate that the fighting has been tougher than Iraqi government officials had anticipated. And while they insist that the offensive is aimed only at "rogue elements" of the Madhi Army and other militias, the Sadr movement is treating it as a politicized attack by their Shi'ite rivals in the government aimed at weakening their position ahead of October's local government elections...
...offensive was the Iraqi government's initiative and responsibility, has now increased its political and military commitment to the operation's success. The longer the fighting in the south drags on, the greater the chance of an escalation in militia violence across the south and in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhoods - an escalation that could jeopardize many of the security gains made in the course of the U.S. troop surge...