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Anti-American Protests Mark Iraqi Anniversary

Al-Sadr demonstrations draw tens of thousands

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Apr 9, 2007 6:49 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Tens of thousands of Iraqis converged today on the southern city of Najaf, a Shia shrine, to mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.  Waving Iraqi flags and chanting anti-U.S. slogans,  demonstators marched from Kufa to neighboring Najaf. AP reports that two cordons of Iraqi police lined the route, while others soldiers, in uniform, joined the crowd.

The demonstration, called by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, was peaceful. On Sunday al-Sadr called for Iraqis to stop killing each other. "You, the Iraqi army and police forces," he said in a statement released by followers, "don't walk alongside the occupiers, because they are your archenemy."    

People stand by pools of blood at the Shalal market in the predominantly Shiite Shaab neighborhood, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 30, 2007. Two suicide attackers wearing explosives vests blew themselves up in the market Thursday evening killing at least 82 and wounding 102. (AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)
People stand by pools of blood at the Shalal market in the predominantly Shiite Shaab neighborhood, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, March 30, 2007. Two suicide attackers wearing explosives vests blew...   (Associated Press)
A man stands draped in an Iraqi national flag during a prayer in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)
A man stands draped in an Iraqi national flag during a prayer in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, April 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Adil al-Khazali)   (Associated Press)
Followers of radical anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr march through the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Monday, April 9, 2007, on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to the US forces. Tens of thousands draped themselves in Iraqi flags and marched through the streets of two Shiite holy...
Followers of radical anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr march through the holy city of Najaf, Iraq, Monday, April 9, 2007, on the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to the US forces. Tens of thousands...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq • Shiite • Mahdi Army • protests • Najaf • Muqtada al-Sadr

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