Tens of thousands of supporters of a Shiite cleric rallied Thursday at a main downtown square in Baghdad to protest the U.S. military presence and observe the sixth anniversary of the fall of the Iraqi capital to American forces.
One of the speakers urged President Barack Obama, who made a brief visit to Baghdad this week, to remove all U.S. troops "to fulfill the promises he made to the world."
Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had urged all Iraqis to turn out for the protest at Firdous Square, where Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled on April 9, 2003. "We demand that President Obama stand with the Iraqi people by ending the occupation to fulfill his promises he made to the world," al-Sadr aide Assad al-Nassiri told the crowd.
According to the AP, the aide read out comments by al-Sadr, who lives in Iran, in which he described the U.S. presence as a "crime against all Iraqis" and demanded the release of all detainees.
Al-Sadr had called for a "march of the millions" but it appeared the crowd numbered no more than 30,000 before protesters dispersed late in the morning. Protesters waved banners and carried pictures of al-Sadr, chanting: "No, no occupation" and "Long live al-Sadr!"
Iraqi police guarded the rally but kept away from the main square. Armored Iraqi and American vehicles were parked a few blocks away.
