Firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Friday called upon followers inside his stronghold of Sadr City to resist U.S. forces trying to stabilize the capital. Officials in his organization said the cleric was advocating a peaceful uprising."Raise your voices, all of you loving your brothers and united against your enemy saying as your leader taught you: 'No America, no Israel, no, no Satan,' by standing and demonstrating that way," al-Sadr said in a message distributed at the Kufa mosque in southern Iraq, according to a translation by the Washington-based SITE Institute, which tracks militant groups.
In recent weeks, al-Sadr has appeared to be cooperating with U.S. and Iraqi troops as they implement an enhanced security plan in Baghdad and other parts of the country, even as he has continued to criticize the American presence in Iraq.
On Friday, thousands of al-Sadr's followers demonstrated in several parts of Iraq, including Sadr City, to protest the U.S. role. They denounced the neighborhood security outposts and garrisons being set up under the plan and demanded a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
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