Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army on Tuesday responded to a 16-hour government curfew in Baghdad's turbulent Sadr City with a deadline of its own, calling on residents to clear all the capital's streets after 1pm.

Qais al-Khazali, a spokesman for Mr Sadr, made the announcement on al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite channel whose Iraq offices were recently shut down. He claimed the measure was for Baghdadis' own safety, pending more clashes.