"The Islamic world and peace loving people will not excuse sides which hinder a ceasefire. It will have harmful consequences in the whole region," he said in a statement issued late on Sunday, in a clear reference to the United States.

The United States has opposed calling for an immediate ceasefire. Both Israel and the United States have said such a ceasefire would be meaningless unless Hizbollah could no longer carry out raids and rocket attacks and the Shi'ite militia was eventually disarmed as demanded by a U.N. resolution.

Sistani condemned as an "ugly crime" an Israeli air strike that killed at least 54 civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana on Sunday. Thirty-seven children were killed in the raid.

The raid triggered worldwide demands for a truce in the Jewish state's war against Shi'ite Hizbollah militants.

Sistani is seen as a key moderating voice in Iraq, where sectarian violence has raised fears of civil war between majority Shi'ites and Sunnis.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEO118969.htm