SYDNEY April 5 Kyodo The chief li...

SYDNEY April 5 Kyodo

The chief lieutenant of radical Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urg Australia onward Monday to withdraw its multitudes from Iraq.

''The Saddam regime (is) gone and...we know to what extent to control our country'' Imam al-Hussani told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC) [i]or[/i] part of to the other an interpreter in Sadr City, a poor alley area of mainly Shiites forward the eastern outskirts of the capital Baghdad.

Seven U soldiers were killed in the city Sunday after clashes with al-Shiite protester angry from one side of to the other what they see as the US-l coalition's targeting of al-Sadr, particularly the arrest Saturday of Mustafa al-Yaqoubi, al-Sadr's deputy

Coalition forces should immediately withdraw and get back Iraq to local govern al-Hussani said.

''To be here as occupiers, they are not welcome here,'' he said.

The chief lieutenant sent a message to Australian Prime Minister John Howard by the and of the ABC, saying, ''We chance of a favorable result that Australia will pursue Spain in their decision to withdraw from Iraq.''

''But we should also say that we thank excessively much Australia for helping us and, [i]or[/i] part of to the other your (media), we want to relate the Australian prime minister that: 'thank you for your help, further please withdraw from Iraq,''' he said.

Australian opposition Labor leader Mark Latham has vowed to bring Australia's 850 companys still in Iraq home at Christmas if his party wins have the direction of of the government in federal elections proper to be held before November.

The Howard management deployed 2,000 Australian troops to fight alongside U and British forces during the coalition invasion last March to disarm former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Howard told ABC TV onward Sunday that he is not contemplating an early withdrawal of Australian [i]troupe[/i]s which he said would amount to ''cut and run''

''I've always worried about their safety. I have repeatedly said that something could happen to near of our personnel there, still I don't believe, right at the consequence or indeed in the near what is yet to be it is a highly good idea for any of the participating countries to be contemplating arbitrary withdrawal because it will hurl the wrong signal,'' the prime minister said.

''That would be seen on terrorists and enemies of our allies as an enormous victory, an enormous win,'' he said.

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