Allawi called to broker Sadr cease-fire

BAGHDAD, April 21 (UPI) -- Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Monday members of the Sadrist Movement appealed to him to negotiate a cease-fire with U.S. troops in Sadr City.

Allawi made his comments at a news conference Monday with Fattah al-Sheikh of the Sadrist Movement and members of the Shiite Fadhila party in Baghdad.

Allawi said Sadrist lawmakers called on him to intervene Saturday to mediate a cease-fire with the U.S. military and to seek a halt to the construction of a wall around Sadr City, Voices of Iraq reported.

The former prime minister suggested he held various talks with U.S. officials, but declined to provide further details.

He also called on the government to rid itself of the political parties that maintained military wings, accusing the armed militias of infiltrating government forces.

He also cautioned that his unity Iraqi National List bloc "would not return" to the central government as Sadrist officials blamed Baghdad for manufacturing "a crisis with the Sadrists" to reach security and economic deals with U.S. officials.