KavkazCenter - Iraqis protest US occupation

Iraqis protest US occupation

Tens of Iraqis demanded the withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces on Monday in a peaceful protest marking the 4th anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to invading American troops.

The protestors, waving flags and chanting anti-U.S. slogans, were responding to a call by powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who blames the 2003 U.S.-led invasion for Iraq's woes and wants a timetable set for a U.S. troop withdrawal.

The peaceful demonstration, which lasted for about three hours, was held in the southern city of Najaf, but Baghdad's streets have been largely empty after the Iraqi government imposed a 24-hour ban on movement by all vehicles to prevent any attacks, especially car bombings.

Correspondents estimate the size of Najaf's protest at tens of thousands, while organizers said the number was far greater.

Speaking to the protestors, cleric Abdelhadi al-Mohammadawi, a Sadr supporter, called on U.S. occupation forces to leave the war-torn country. His speech was interrupted by chants "Leave, leave occupier!" and "No, no, to the occupation."

"We demand the exit of the occupier and withdrawal of the last American invaders and we also reject the existence of any kind of military bases," he said.

Another member of Sadr's organization, Salah al-Obaydi, called the rally a "call for liberation". "We're hoping that by next year's anniversary, we will be an independent and liberated Iraq with full sovereignty," he said.

On Sunday, Moqtada al-Sadr issued a statement calling on Iraqis not to "walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your arch enemy".

But he warned followers against violence, urging his Mahdi Army and Iraqi security forces "to be patient and to unite your efforts against the enemy and not against the sons of Iraq". Sadr hasn't been seen in public since U.S. and Iraqi army forces launched a new security crackdown in and around Baghdad almost eight weeks ago. The U.S. says that he is in Iran, but his aides insist that he is still in Iraq.

Sadr's ability to muster such a large gathering indicate that, despite his absence, he is still a force to be reckoned with, correspondents say.

The young cleric led two uprisings against U.S. occupation forces in 2004 but has since become a major political player. His supporters hold a crucial bloc of seats in the Iraqi government, giving them an influential voice in Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government.

The U.S. claims that his Mahdi Army is fueling sectarian violence, a charge Sadr strongly denies. Clashes between U.S., Iraqi troops and Mahdi Army fighters continued on Monday in the central town of Diwaniya, where the U.S. army launched an offensive last Friday.

Four years ago, the world watched as U.S. troops toppled Saddam's statue in Baghdad's central Firdous Square. By then, the war had claimed the lives of thousands of Iraqi soldiers and civilians, 96 Americans and 30 British troops.

Now, the death tolls surged to tens of thousands of Iraqis, more than 3,270 U.S. invaders, 140 British invaders and about 124 others from different nations.

Agencies