June 30, 2003	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 29,1424

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BASRA, June 29: Hundreds of Iraqi ex-soldiers mounted an angry protest at British headquarters in the southern city of Basra Sunday to demand back wages, later dispersing after striking a deal, military sources said.

The soldiers had placed barbed wire and large rocks in front of the main entrance to the British headquarters in Saddam Hussein’s old Al-Barazhiya palace, to blockade the compound, an AFP correspondent saw.

“One of the representatives was brought into the palace and the issue was resolved,” Lieutenant Commander Clive Woodman told AFP, adding that there had been “one or two instances of stone throwing and a small fire lit.”

“There were around 200 people outside the palace this morning, the same people as were down there yesterday, ex-Iraqi soldiers,” he said, adding that there had been no injuries on either side and that the crowd had dispersed.

“The payment will take place Tuesday,” he added.—AFP