Thousands rally to demand ouster of U.S. soldiers
BAGHDAD — Waving national flags and banners denouncing President Trump, tens of thousands of Iraqis marched peacefully through Baghdad on Friday to demand that U.S. troops leave their country in a protest organized by a populist Shiite cleric.
The show of force by followers of Muqtada alSadr and Iranianbacked militias came amid heightened tensions following a U.S. drone strike earlier this month that killed a top Iranian general in the Iraqi capital, fanning antiU.S. sentiment.
There were no official estimates of the turnout and organizers gave varying figures, but it clearly fell short of the “millionman” march that had been called for by alSadr.
Large crowds gathered on the Muslim day of prayer as loudspeakers blasted, “No, no America!” at a central square.
The ralliers did not clash with the heavy security presence or target the separate, antigovernment protests in neighboring Tahrir Square, a possibility feared by activists.
The rally came at a critical time as rival political blocs are jockeying over the selection of a prime minister to replace outgoing Adel AbdulMahdi. In his weekly Friday sermon, Grand Ayatollah Ali alSistani, Iraq’s most revered Shiite cleric, called on political parties to stop stalling and move talks on forming a government.
Roads and bridges leading to the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraq’s government and home to several foreign diplomatic compounds including the U.S. Embassy, were barricaded by concrete barriers. Iraqi security forces stood guard, blocking access to the gates of the zone.
The protesters were mostly Shiites from the capital but also from Iraq’s southern provinces.
AlSadr, whose party won the most seats in the May 2018 parliamentary elections, had called the rally to demand the withdrawal of American troops following the Jan. 3 U.S. drone strike near Baghdad’s airport that killed top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and senior Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi alMuhandis. The killing drew the ire of Iraqi officials from across the political spectrum.
According to U.S. military officials, rather than draw down, Americans have poured 20,000 additional troops into the Middle East to counter what Washington describes as an escalating threat from Iran. There are about 5,200 U.S. troops in Iraq, where they help train and assist Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State group.