Shi'ite cleric Sadr keeps Iraq guessing over truce

By Dean Yates

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Powerful Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will decide within days whether to extend or scrap his Mehdi Army militia ceasefire, a move that will have big repercussions for security in Iraq.

U.S. military officials say Sadr's six-month truce order on August 29 has played a big part in reducing sectarian violence and clashes between the militia and U.S. and Iraqi forces.

A return to hostilities could risk those security gains at a time when Iraqi leaders have begun making some progress toward reconciling majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs.

"It's critical that Sadr continues to observe the ceasefire," said Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow and Iraq expert at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

Sadr had not made up his mind about the truce, his spokesman Salah al-Ubaidi said on Wednesday.

"In the coming few days he will decide," Ubaidi said.

Many Mehdi Army members and Sadrist political leaders say they want the truce ditched, accusing the security forces of using it to detain many of Sadr's followers.

Ubaidi said Sadr would issue a statement around February 23 if he was renewing the truce. Silence would mean it was over.