Thousands in Baghdad demand US troops go

January 24, 2020

Thousands are rallying in Baghdad to demand that US troops leave the country, though their numbers fell short of the "million-man" march called for by an influential Shi'Ite cleric.

The protest comes amid heightened anti-US sentiment after a US drone strike earlier this month killed a top Iranian general in the Iraqi capital.

Since mid-morning, large crowds gathered on the Muslim day of prayers as loudspeakers blasted "No, no America!" at a central square in Baghdad. A child held up a poster reading, "Death to America. Death to Israel." But by the afternoon the rally had failed to reach the critical numbers called for by the radical cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr.

Apparently seeking to show control, al-Sadr's supporters did not engage in altercations with security forces or target the separate, anti-government protests in neighbouring Tahrir Square, a possibility feared by activists in the lead-up to Friday's march.