April 10, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21, 1428

NAJAF, April 9: Tens of thousands of people waving Iraqi flags staged a peaceful rally in the southern city of Najaf on Monday to demand the withdrawal of US 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 clamped a 24-hour ban on vehicles to prevent any insurgent attacks, especially car bombings.

The anniversary comes as Iraq’s government is trying to avert full-scale civil war between majority Shias and minority Sunnis who were dominant under Saddam Hussein.

Sunni and Shia clerics marched side by side in Najaf.

The protesters in Najaf were responding to a call by powerful anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who blames the March 2003 invasion for the country’s woes and wants a timetable set for a US troop withdrawal.

Waving red, white and black Iraqi flags, marchers choked the 7km-long road between Najaf and neighbouring Kufa and clogged streets leading to Sadrayn Square, the main rallying point. Many had come from Baghdad and Shia towns and cities in the south.

Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters travelling with President George W. Bush to Arizona from Texas: “I note today that Sadr called for massive protests. I’m not sure that we’ve seen that, those numbers materialise and the numbers that he was seeking...

“But Iraq, four years on, is now a place where people can freely gather and express their opinions, and that was something they could not do under Saddam. And while we have much more progress ahead of us – the United States, the coalition and Iraqis have much more to do – this is a country that has come a long way from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein,” he said.

Sadr has kept out of sight since US and Iraqi forces began a crackdown on violence in Baghdad and was not at the rally. The US military says he is in Iran, but his aides insist he is still in Iraq, possibly Najaf.

His ability to muster such a large gathering was a signal to the Iraqi government and Washington that, despite his absence from public view, he is still a force to be reckoned with.

Reuters journalists estimated the size of the crowd at tens of thousands, while organisers said the number was far greater.

The US military said aerial surveillance pictures showed that 15,000 took part.—Reuters