Muqtada al-Sadr aide accuses government of violating terms of deal to end Najaf fighting

Ali Smeisim, al-Sadr's top political adviser, made no explicit threats as he leveled his allegations during a press conference in Baghdad.

But his remarks raised the possibility of a new confrontation between the government and al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which rose up against the Americans and their Iraqi allies in April and August.

''We negotiated with the Iraqi government and reached peaceful solutions and are carrying out our obligations,'' Smeisim told reporters. ''The Iraqi government should do its part.''

He said the government promised in the August agreement not to pursue members of al-Sadr's movement and to release most of them from detention.

''The government, however started pursuing them and their numbers in prisons have doubled,'' Smeisim said. ''Iraqi police arrested 160 al-Sadr loyalists in Najaf four days ago.''

He also accused the government of conspiring with two major Shiite parties, Dawa and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, to marginalize al-Sadr's movement and prevent its clerics from speaking in mosques.

''No gathering by the al-Sadr trend is allowed to take place at particular mosques,'' Smeisim said. ''They want to drag the movement into a third battle. I call on the movement to show restraint and patience'' to avoid ''a Shiite-Shiite war.''

He said Dawa and the supreme council, known by its acronym SCIRI, of having ''come with the (U.S.) occupation'' and having convinced the Americans ''that they are the parties that represent the people.''

Both Dawa and SCIRI are represented in the interim Iraqi government.

Meanwhile, Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission said Tuesday that 156 political parties have been approved to run candidates in the Jan. 30 general election.

They included the Iraqi National Accord party led by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and the new party of President Ghazi al-Yawer, called the Iraqis' Party, commission spokesman Farid Ayar said in a statement. Ayar said 212 parties applied for certification but 56 were rejected for failing to meet criteria.

Also among those approved was the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni group that had threatened to boycott the election to protest the U.S.-led offensive against Fallujah. The party later decided to participate.

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