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Sadr calls mass anti-US protest in Baghdad

NAJAF, Iraq (AFP) — Moqtada al-Sadr Friday called a mass rally for April 9 in Baghdad against US forces in Iraq, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered his troops to halt raids on the Shiite cleric’s militiamen.
The venue for the protest had earlier been set as the central shrine city of Najaf but a Sadr spokesman said it would be more effective in the Iraqi capital and allow more people to take part.
April 9 marks the fifth anniversary of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime following the US-led invasion of March 20, 2003.
“The Sadr movement has decided to change the venue of the huge demonstration that had been announced for Najaf on April 9,” said Salah al-Obeidi, spokesman for Sadr’s office in Najaf.
“A protest in Baghdad will be more effective because it is in the capital, and secondly, a protest there will allow people of other sects to participate,” Obeidi told AFP.
“This demonstration is not limited to the Sadr movement. We want all Iraqis to take part. The target of the protest is the (US) occupation,” he added.
The announcement came after crowds of people spilled on to the streets of Shiite areas of east Baghdad following the main weekly Muslim prayers to denounce Maliki and demand that US troops quit their areas.

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