IRAQ: Thousands hold anti-U.S. protest in Najaf on 4th anniversary of the day Baghdad fell to invading U.S.- led forces

On the fourth anniversary of the day Baghdad fell to invading American troops, tens of thousands of Iraqis stage a peaceful rally in the southern city of Najaf to demand a U.S. withdrawal. Tens of thousands of people waving Iraqi flags and chanting anti-American slogans held a peaceful rally in the southern city of Najaf on Monday (April 9) to demand the withdrawal of U.S. forces, four years to the day after Baghdad fell to invading American troops. The streets of the Iraqi capital itself were largely empty after authorities imposed a 24-hour ban on vehicles to prevent attacks on the anniversary. U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched a major crackdown in Baghdad, epicentre of the violence gripping Iraq. The protesters in Najaf were responding to a call by powerful anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who blames the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 for the country's woes and wants a timetable set for a U.S. troop withdrawal. Waving dozens of red, white and back Iraqi flags, marchers filled the seven km-long (four-mile long) road between Najaf and Kufa and clogged the streets leading to Sadrayn Square, the main rallying point in Najaf. Many came by bus and car from Baghdad and Shi'ite towns and cities in the south. Sadr was not at the rally. He has been keeping a low profile since the Baghdad crackdown. The U.S. military says he is in neighbouring Iran, but his aides insist he is still in Iraq. Washington accuses his Mehdi Army militia of fuelling sectarian violence and says it is now the biggest threat to peace in Iraq, a charge he denies. Speaking against the backdrop of an Iraqi flag, a leading member of Sadr's movement, Sheikh Abdelhadi al-Mohammadawi, called on U.S. forces to leave. His speech was interrupted by the periodic chorus of "Leave, leave occupier!" and "No, no, to the occupation". "We demand the exit of the occupier and withdrawal of the last American soldier and we also reject the existence of any kind of military bases," he said. U.S. President George W. Bush has insisted U.S. troops will not leave until Iraqis can take over security and has repeatedly rejected setting a timetable for withdrawal. While Iraq has a new U.S.-trained army, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government is still heavily dependent on American firepower and logistical support to combat the Sunni insurgency. In November, the U.N. Security Council renewed the mandate of the U.S.-led forces in Iraq until the end of 2007. Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein had vowed to defeat the U.S.-led invasion launched on March 20, 2003, but his forces offered little resistance as U.S. forces thrust deep into the heart of the Iraqi capital. By then the war had cost 96 American dead, 30 British dead and unknown thousands of Iraqi military and civilian casualties. Four years on, those tolls have soared to more than 3,270 U.S. soldiers killed, 140 British soldiers, 124 from other nations, and tens of thousands of Iraqis. Ten U.S. soldiers were killed at the weekend.

ITN Source | April 9, 2007

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