impyRM03
04-04-2004, 09:47 AM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3597887.stm
Protesters die in Iraq firefight
Moqtada Sadr supporters want US-led forces out of Iraq
At least 19 people have been killed and around 100 injured in clashes between Spanish-led troops and demonstrators in the Iraqi city of Najaf.
Soldiers shot at a crowd marching on their base, witnesses said, but it was not clear who had opened fire first.
The demonstrators were protesting at the reported arrest of an aide to firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.
The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, said people had "crossed the line and moved to violence".
Days of protests
The protest took place outside the garrison of the Spanish military contingent, who lead the coalition forces in Najaf.
One report said two Iraqi soldiers, acting alongside coalition forces, were among the casualties.
Troops from El Salvador and other Spanish-speaking countries are also based at the camp.
One report said Spanish forces were pelted with stones, and responded by opening fire.
But one of the marchers, Hussein Ali, said the first shots came from the demonstrators.
"Some protesters, who were armed, fired toward the Spanish troops, who responded by firing on the crowd. It was carnage," he said.
At least some of those on the march were armed members of the Moqtada Sadr's banned Mehdi Army militia.
The demonstrators joined the protest after hearing that one of his senior aides, Mustafa al-Yacoubi, had been arrested.
Spanish troops in the area have said they had no information on the arrest, and the US cannot confirm an arrest either.
People have crossed the line... This will not be tolerated
US administrator Paul Bremer
Profile: Moqtada Sadr
The past few days have seen a number of demonstrations by Moqtada Sadr's followers, against the arrest of his aide and the closure of a pro-Sadr newspaper.
Mr Bremer said Iraqi people had acquired freedoms, but that they must be exercised peacefully.
"This morning in Najaf a group of people crossed the line and moved to violence. This will not be tolerated", he said.
He was speaking at a ceremony to initiate an Iraqi defence ministry and intelligence service, which he said would give Iraqis "the means to defend their country against terrorists".
On Sunday demonstrations by Shia radicals also erupted in Baghdad and the southern port of Basra. Gunfire broke out in the Baghdad protest, but there were no reports of serious casualties.
US marines killed
The American military said on Sunday that two US marines had been killed in the province of Al-Anbar, a hotbed of anti-coalition violence.
"One marine was killed in action yesterday. The other marine died today from wounds received in separate action yesterday," it said in a statement on Sunday.
The US military declined to give any further information on the latest incidents for security reasons.
The US has lost 459 service personnel in Iraq since President Bush declared major combat over on 1 May 2003.
In Samarra, about 100km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, a bomb exploded near a checkpoint manned by Iraqi Civil Defence Corps personnel, killing three of them and wounding one, local hospital workers said.
Protesters die in Iraq firefight
Moqtada Sadr supporters want US-led forces out of Iraq
At least 19 people have been killed and around 100 injured in clashes between Spanish-led troops and demonstrators in the Iraqi city of Najaf.
Soldiers shot at a crowd marching on their base, witnesses said, but it was not clear who had opened fire first.
The demonstrators were protesting at the reported arrest of an aide to firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.
The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, said people had "crossed the line and moved to violence".
Days of protests
The protest took place outside the garrison of the Spanish military contingent, who lead the coalition forces in Najaf.
One report said two Iraqi soldiers, acting alongside coalition forces, were among the casualties.
Troops from El Salvador and other Spanish-speaking countries are also based at the camp.
One report said Spanish forces were pelted with stones, and responded by opening fire.
But one of the marchers, Hussein Ali, said the first shots came from the demonstrators.
"Some protesters, who were armed, fired toward the Spanish troops, who responded by firing on the crowd. It was carnage," he said.
At least some of those on the march were armed members of the Moqtada Sadr's banned Mehdi Army militia.
The demonstrators joined the protest after hearing that one of his senior aides, Mustafa al-Yacoubi, had been arrested.
Spanish troops in the area have said they had no information on the arrest, and the US cannot confirm an arrest either.
People have crossed the line... This will not be tolerated
US administrator Paul Bremer
Profile: Moqtada Sadr
The past few days have seen a number of demonstrations by Moqtada Sadr's followers, against the arrest of his aide and the closure of a pro-Sadr newspaper.
Mr Bremer said Iraqi people had acquired freedoms, but that they must be exercised peacefully.
"This morning in Najaf a group of people crossed the line and moved to violence. This will not be tolerated", he said.
He was speaking at a ceremony to initiate an Iraqi defence ministry and intelligence service, which he said would give Iraqis "the means to defend their country against terrorists".
On Sunday demonstrations by Shia radicals also erupted in Baghdad and the southern port of Basra. Gunfire broke out in the Baghdad protest, but there were no reports of serious casualties.
US marines killed
The American military said on Sunday that two US marines had been killed in the province of Al-Anbar, a hotbed of anti-coalition violence.
"One marine was killed in action yesterday. The other marine died today from wounds received in separate action yesterday," it said in a statement on Sunday.
The US military declined to give any further information on the latest incidents for security reasons.
The US has lost 459 service personnel in Iraq since President Bush declared major combat over on 1 May 2003.
In Samarra, about 100km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, a bomb exploded near a checkpoint manned by Iraqi Civil Defence Corps personnel, killing three of them and wounding one, local hospital workers said.