Iraqi PM issues ultimatum for insurgents to surrender

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Source: CCTV.com | 03-27-2008 13:34

In Iraq, clashes between Shiite militia and security troops continued across the country on Wednesday.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (2nd R) talks to reporters during a meeting with Iraq's Vice- President Adel Abdul Mahdi (L) in Baghdad March 23, 2008. REUTERS

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has issued a 72-hour ultimatum for insurgents to surrender weapons.

In Baghdad, Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army battled US-backed Iraqi forces in the city's main Shiite district of Sadr City.

In the afternoon, fierce clashes erupted between the Mahdi Army and Iraqi security forces in two other neighborhoods.

In Basra, the focus of the confrontation, the death toll has reached 38 while more than 134 others were injured.

Sadr has called on his followers to stage a nation-wide civil disobedience in protest of the government's actions.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei