Iraq's foremost Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on US forces and Shia militia fighters to withdraw from the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala on Tuesday.
It was the most clear-cut statement on the issue from Sistani, Iraq's most influential Shia authority, since militiamen loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr launched an uprising against the US-led occupation in April.
"It's permissible...to demand the withdrawal of all military vestiges from the two cities and allow the police and tribal forces to perform their role in preserving security and order," Sistani said in a rare statement released by his office in Najaf.
US forces and followers of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia have fought pitched battles in the streets of Najaf and Kerbala over the past week, often fighting close to some of Shia Islam's holiest shrines.
Sadr's followers, in sermons at mosques across southern, Shia dominated Iraq, have urged Shias to converge on Najaf and Kerbala to defend the cities against US forces.
But Sistani said in his statement it was too dangerous and Shias should instead demonstrate in their hometowns against the presence of all military bodies in the cities.
"The office of Ayatollah Sistani calls on citizens in all of the cities and governorates not to head to holy Najaf due to the dangerous circumstances that the holy city is passing through," the statement said.
Instead, it said, gatherings should be organised in mosques and provinces around the country, "to protest violations of the sanctity of the two holy cities".
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