Iraqi
Sunnis, a majority of whom also strongly oppose the US-led occupation,
took to the streets of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, protesting the
continued occupation.
Two
peaceful marches kicked off consecutively from Al-Anbar University and
Al-Sufia district, Al-Arabiya news channel reported.
The
protesters called for a timetable for a US pullout and for tearing
down all US military bases in the country.
Prominent
Sunni scholars urged their community at Friday sermons to rally in the
Firdos Square.
“I
ask all Iraqis to join in peaceful demonstrations tomorrow against the
occupation,” Sheikh Harith Al-Dari, the Secretary General of the
Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), the highest Sunni body in the
country, told worshipers Friday, April 8.
“The
people must speak with one voice and say: 'No to the occupation; the
occupiers must leave.' Two years have passed and all we see is
bloodshed, destruction and looting.”
Mounting
Frustration
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Iraqi protesters hold cut-outs grilling Bush, Blair and Saddam. (Reuters)
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Saturday's
protest taps into the growing frustration among the Iraqi population
against the US presence in the country.
Many
Iraqis who would not take up arms against the Americans still want
troops to leave soon.
Scandals
such as the
abuse of Iraqi detainees by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison and
the deaths of Iraqi detainees in US custody have exacerbated the
situation.
According
to a Reuters count, more than 10,000 Iraqis are being held by US
occupation forces, most of them without trial.
Many
are also infuriated by the fact that more than two years since the
war, Saddam and his senior lieutenants have still not been tried.
Iraqi
officials said last week that trials are expected to begin later this
year, although Saddam is unlikely to be one of the first to appear in
court.
Iraqi
Troops Killed
Meanwhile,
the bodies of 15 Iraqi soldiers were found Friday near the town of
Latifiya, about 50km (30 miles) southwest of Baghdad, Iraqi police
said Saturday.
Police
said the soldiers were in a truck that was stopped by gunmen. All the
men had been shot.
The
police said the soldiers were being transported in a truck which was
pulled off the road by the gunmen.
Gunmen
have increasingly targeted Iraqi security forces in recent months.
Last month, more than 250 Iraqi police and soldiers were killed,
according to a Reuters count.
A
cohort of 64 Sunni scholars issued on April 1 a fatwa urging Iraqis to
join the fledging army and police forces provided that enlistees do
not collaborate with US-led occupation forces against their
countrymen.
The
fatwa, from which the AMS distanced itself, underlined the need
for “trustworthy and fair elements” in the country’s police and
army.
