A tenuous peace returned to Iraq on Monday following the call by the radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for his militia to withdraw from clashes with Iraqi government forces.

In Basra the Iraqi army took control of deserted militia checkpoints as residents emerged to bury their dead and clear away the debris after six days of clashes. In Baghdad the government partially lifted a curfew, despite sporadic clashes throughout the morning and a mortar barrage targeting the “Green Zone” government and diplomatic compound.