A new round of talks to cease hostilities in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City ended in deadlock, with cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia refusing American demands to disband and turn in its weapons. A group of tribal leaders and al-Sadr representatives met Saturday with a Baghdad city councilman acting as an intermediary between the two sides to discuss a 12-point proposals plan that calls for fighters to disarm in exchange for millions of dollars in reconstruction money and compensation for victims. The plan would also have Iraqi forces take over much of the security in the east Baghdad slum and limit the movement of U.S. troops. "The only sticking point is that the Americans are insisting on disbanding the al-Mahdi Army and this is not possible for us," Kareem al-Bakhatti, al-Sadr's chief representative at the meeting, told The Associated Press.
