BAGHDAD, March 30 : Shite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday said he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the Government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.

The Iraqi Government quickly welcomed al-Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement sparked on Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issued a statement calling it “astep in the right direction”.

Al-Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: “taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere.” He also demanded that the Iraqi Government stop “haphazard raids” and release security detainees who haven’t been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the Government.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh called it “positive and responsible,” in a telephone interview broadcast on Iraqi state TV. But he also warned that Iraqi security forces would continue to target those who don’t follow the order. “We expect a wide response to this call,” he said. “After this announcement, anybody who targets the government and its institutions will be regarded... as outlaws.”

Al-Sadr’s decision came after Iraqi security forces faced fierce resistance to a crackdown against militia violence in the southern city of Basra.

Earlier in the day, dozens of Shiite gunmen stormed a state TV facility in central Basra, forcing Iraqi troops guarding the building to flee and setting armoured vehicles on fire. No casualties were reported, but the attack illustrated the stark challenges facing al-Maliki’s Government amid anger by al-Sadr’s followers over recent detentions and raids targeting his Mahdi Army militia.