Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr called on his followers Sunday to stop battling government forces after six days of fighting in Iraq's south and the capital threatened to spiral out of control. The government immediately welcomed Sadr's statement, saying it would help the authorities impose security in Iraq. A government crackdown on Sadr's followers in the southern oil port of Basra has sparked an explosion of violence that risks undoing recent improvements in Iraq's fragile security and jeopardizing US plans to withdraw troops. “Because of the religious responsibility, and to stop Iraqi blood being shed ... we call for an end to armed appearances in Basra and all other provinces,” Sadr said in a statement given to journalists by his aides in Najaf. “Anyone carrying a weapon and targeting government institutions will not be one of us,” the statement said. Sadr also called on the government to stop “random illegal arrests” of his followers and to implement an amnesty law passed by Iraq's parliament in February to free prisoners. Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki has ordered Shiite fighters in Basra to lay down their arms and has extended a 72-hour deadline until April 8 for them to turn over heavy and medium weapons. Mehdi Army fighters in the city had rejected the ultimatum. __
