NEW YORK, April 30: Thousands of people marched through downtown New York on Saturday, demanding that the US should withdraw from Iraq. The marchers carried anti-war placards and chanted slogans, asking President George W. Bush to end the war in Iraq and stop threatening Iran.

The protests came as the news media reported that April was the deadliest month for US soldiers in Iraq this year, with 69 killed as of Friday.

The marchers included Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon, former Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson and anti-war campaigner Cindy Sheehan, whose son died in Iraq.

“We have lost money and lives and honour,” Mr Jackson said, urging Americans to join the marches around the country. “We need to march to end a war based upon lies and spies.”

Protest organisers said another aim was to warn against any US military intervention in Iran over the nuclear standoff with Tehran.