BAGHDAD, May 11 (Xinhuanet) -- Militiamen of radical shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Tuesday fired into the air to disperse demonstrators who were demanding them leave the holy city, a witness said.

    Dozens of followers of a main shiite party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), were dispersed when theMehdi Army fighters opened fire into the air, Muhsin Jawad told Xinhua.

    The demonstration was staged following calls by other senior shiite religious leaders, Jawad said, adding that the marchers wereheading towards the sacred Imam Ali shrine when the Sadr's fightersopened fire.

    Sadr, who has led a month-long insurgency against the US-led occupation, is holed up in Najaf, about 160 km south of Baghdad.

    He is wanted for a suspect murder of a rival cleric last year and the US-led coalition has been trying to isolate him and disbandhis Mehdi Army militia.

    US forces have surrounded and entered parts of the city to crushSadr's fighters and end their uprising which erupted in Baghdad andcities across the shiite south.

    The demonstration, organized by Sadr's political foes, reflectedincreasing pressure from shiite leaders on Sadr to move his men outof the city. Enditem