BAGHDAD, Aug 9 (AFP) - Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari vowed Monday the interim Iraqi government would score a decisive victory over radical Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr's militia to prove it can restore security.
"This is one of the first security challenges that face our new government. We need to be decisive, we need to be strong, we need to impose the rule of law and order throughout the country," he told reporters.
"The prime minister was very clear... he will not allow or tolerate any armed militias to be above the law and to challenge the police and he asked them to leave the city," Zebari added, referring to central Najaf.
His comments came a day after premier Iyad Allawi visited Najaf, where US forces and Iraqi security forces have been engaged in fierce clashes with the militia, and demanded the fighters leave the holy city.
Sadr vowed to fight until his "last drop of blood" as the intense clashes engulfed the area for a fifth straight day Monday.
Asked whether the government would also crush other Iraqi militias, the minister said Sadr's Mehdi Army must first be brought to heel.
"At the moment, that (the Mehdi Army) is the most immediate challenge that we face. We need to face this one," he said.
A "large part" of the vast cemetery in Najaf, where militiamen have been hunkered down for days, had been cleared by Iraqi and multinational forces, Zebari said.
"We have offered Moqtada Sadr many times a way out... the political process is wide open for him... challenging the Iraqi police will lead him nowhere," Zebari said.
The minister also dismissed claims from prominent Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi that a warrant issued for his arrest for alleged counterfeiting was politically motivated.
"I disagree that this is politically motivated. There may be some miscommunication," he said.
"The taking of hostages in Karbala or Najaf is not to be tolerated," he added.
Iran has confirmed that one of its diplomats went missing en route to the central city of Karbala last Wednesday.
An Islamic group said he had been detained for allegedly stirring sectarian strife and for activities outside his diplomatic duties.