Residents stand at the door of their damaged house after clashes in Baghdad's Sadr City March 29, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Sunday asked his followers to put weapons aside after days of fierce clashes have pushed the nation to the brink of even larger bloodshed.

"In order to stop Iraqi blood being shed and maintain unity of Iraq, we call for an end to all armed appearances in Basra and all other Iraqi cities," Sadr said in a statement.

"We declare that anyone carrying weapon and target security forces, government institutions and political parties' offices, will not be one of us," Sadr said.

Sadr also urged people to cooperate with the security forces and the government to achieve security.

He asked the government to stop detaining his followers and implement an amnesty for detainees.

The government promptly welcomed his decision.