Sattar al-Battat read the Sadr statement to followers in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City, saying Kurds in Khanaqin in northern Diyala should "fly the Iraqi flag," adding Iraqi, not Kurdish, forces should control the area.

In the statement, Sadr condemned the Kurdish Peshmerga forces for interfering in national security matters in the southern and central areas of the country, Voices of Iraq reported.

The radical cleric, believed to be in Iran furthering his clerical studies, also called on his supporters to protest the U.S. occupation "through peaceful means" beginning the first Friday of Ramadan, which begins Tuesday.

Sadr on Thursday ordered his Mehdi Army militia to stand down indefinitely, urging the unit to instead focus on social service activities.

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