Najaf residents yearn for peace

By Kylie Morris BBC correspondent in Najaf

Some Najaf families are leaving the city until security is restored

It does not sound like a truce. Hours after Moqtada Sadr had publicly agreed to disarm his militia and leave the Imam Ali shrine, fighting continued here in Najaf.

The night sky was alive with the sound of mortar fire, flashes of heavy artillery, and the percussion of gunfire.

The rebel cleric has now asked for a ceasefire before he will make good on his promises.

But if that ceasefire requires US forces to retreat from their grid around the hallowed ground of Shia Islam's most sacred site, the deadlock remains.

It is too late for the family of Abdullah Thwani. They have packed up their modest house in the old city and are loading all their belongings onto a truck. The sewing machine is one of the last to be loaded.

Mr Thwani says he will not bring his family of seven children back to Najaf until peace is restored and security returns.

He says the last few nights have been the worst, with rockets and tanks firing all night. One of the rounds hit his front door.

'No bread'

It is better to run than to walk across the streets of Najaf's old city. US tanks now roll around this historic place and snipers sit menacingly on its rooftops.

Shopkeeper Ahmed Rameh normally makes his living from the thousands of pilgrims who travel to the Imam Ali shrine in the old city each year. But for now his days are full of horror.

The sacred mosque used to draw Shia pilgrims from across the country

"It's so dangerous to be close to the shrine and we're suffering, my whole family. Financially it's very difficult. This morning I couldn't even provide bread for them," he said.

When asked for his views on what was happening to the shrine, he said: "The old city is being destroyed. We don't accept the situation. We want a return to safety. Even under Saddam this didn't happen."

Ahmed's neighbours want to show us the shrapnel they have collected in the streets. They collect the fragments of the fighting and say: "Look! They come from America, the country which speaks of democracy and freedom."

For the city's holy men, the crisis is keenly felt. I asked Sheikh Abu al-Hassan how he feels these days.

"My feeling is that of any Muslim. This is a sacred city. The only solution is for all parties to look for peace. That's the only logical solution," he said.

Looking for peace is apparently on the mind of Mr Sadr, but whether he is prepared to give up the advantage of holding the shrine is still unclear, despite his promises.