Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has ordered his fighters off Iraq's streets in a move which Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki welcomed as a 'step in the right direction' after several days of heavy fighting.
'The statement of Sadr is a step in the right direction. We hope it will contribute to the stability of the situation and enforcing of the law,' Mr Maliki said.
Moqtada al Sadr called on his followers to stop battling government forces, seeking to stamp down violence in towns and cities that has threatened to spiral out of control.
He said because of religious responsibility, and to stop Iraqi blood being shed, he has made the call.
A curfew that has seen Baghdad locked down during three days of fighting will be lifted from 6am local time although cars will still not be permitted to move in three districts.
A crackdown on Moqtada al-Sadr's followers in the southern oil port of Basra has sparked an explosion of violence in Iraq's south and in Baghdad.
It raised fears that the violence risks undoing recent improvements in Iraq's fragile security and jeopardising US plans to withdraw troops.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered militants in Basra to lay down their arms and has extended a 72-hour deadline until 8 April.
Prime Minister Maliki launched the military operation last Tuesday, vowing to reassert his government's control over Iraq's second city, which is dominated by various militias.
But so far only strongholds of Moqtada al-Sadr's followers have been targeted.
The operation has sparked a furious backlash from Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia, who believe Mr Maliki and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, his most powerful Shia ally, are trying to crush them ahead of provincial elections due in October.
Government forces have so far failed to drive militia members from Basra's streets.
