Fresh from a fierce clash with militias in Basra, Iraqi Prime Minister unveiled a plan to boost security and win hearts and minds of the locals.
The seven-point program in Basra includes boosting security forces in Basra by recruiting 10,000 new troops, restoring services, imposing a strict check on vehicles without licences, building new houses for the poor and turning government-owned palaces into tourist destinations.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (C) gestures as he talks to local government officials and tribal leaders during a meeting in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) south of Baghdad March 31, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Maliki, who just returned from the southern city, also said the six-day security operation against Shiite militias was a "success".
Earlier on the day, Maliki ordered security forces to stop raiding and arresting Shiite militiamen randomly but said they should "deal strongly with any groups carrying arms in public".
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday asked his Mahdi Army militia fighters to leave streets and not to target government and political party facilities. Meanwhile, he urged the government to stop random searching and arresting operations, and release the people detained for security reasons.
