NAJAF, Iraq, Aug 19 (AFP) - The Iraqi government said Thursday an offensive against Shiite rebels in the holy city of Najaf would be launched within hours unless militia leader Moqtada Sadr publicly disarms, after charging him with trickery.
"The Iraqi government has laid down conditions that Moqtada Sadr must promise in a press conference not to resort to violence in the future and that the Mehdi Army is to be dissolved," Minister of State Kassem Daoud said here.
The radical cleric must also submit names of all people tried by his religious courts and release all detainees, including Iraqi police, soldiers and national guardsmen, Daoud told a Najaf news conference.
"All this should be declared in a press conference, otherwise the coming hours will be decisive," said Daoud, accusing Sadr of being untrustworthy.
"We have been preparing for a military offensive for five days to put an end to this crisis," he added.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for Sadr said he had accepted three conditions laid down at a key national conference, namely to disarm his militia, leave the Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest in Shiite Islam, and join the political process.
"Sayyed (honorific) Moqtada Sadr... accepted all the conditions extended to him, but there must be a ceasefire for the steps to be implemented," said Ahmed al-Shaibani.
But government spokesman Gurgis Sada was unimpressed, telling AFP that there had been no official word from Sadr.
"He has used various subterfuges by speaking through his aides. It is he and he alone who must speak at this press conference," Daoud said, insisting that Sadr surrender all his weapons to police across the country.
"He must leave the Ali mausoleum, the Kufa mosque and all Iraqis from other districts must leave the city (Najaf) at the direction of police," he said.
Intermittent fighting continued in Najaf`s Old City, with US tanks parked just 200 metres (yards) away from the mausoleum, effectively trapping Sadr`s men in one of the holiest shrines in Shiite Islam.
In Baghdad, an interior ministry spokesman also accused Sadr of failing to act on the promise announced by his spokesman Shaibani.
"Really actions speak louder than words. We`ve made our position very clear that he must leave the shrine and dissolve his army, but still the situation is unchanged," interior ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim told AFP.
"We`ve had these kind of tricks before and the Iraqi people will not be deceived," Kadhim said.
Meanwhile, a top Western coalition official said that Sadr stands to gain if he disarms and turns his movement into a political grouping.
"He is in a dilemma. His religious base is Najaf, while his power base is in Sadr City of Baghdad," the official said.
"But there is some political gain to be made by entering politics. He may win from Sadr City as he comes from the Sadr family which is illustrious in Shiite Islam."
The official also added that the multinational coalition forces propping up the Iraqi government were not involved in any negotiations with Sadr.
"It is the Iraqi government which would take all the necessary action. The coalition forces are just supporting the government," he added.