Sadr followers protest crackdown

BAGHDAD, March 27 (UPI) -- Supporters of hard-line Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr marched in the streets of Baghdad Thursday to protest a security crackdown against Sadr's militia.

The massive protest came as the Iraqi military imposed a three-day curfew in Baghdad, part of an effort to end fighting between the militia and Iraqi security forces. The curfew bans unauthorized vehicles and pedestrians from the streets from 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Sunday, The Washington Post reported.

Demonstrators thronged the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City and the neighborhood of Kazimiyah, the Post said, carrying a coffin decorated with a picture of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Maliki ordered Iraqi security units to move against politically backed armed gangs in Basra.