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Posted on 04/04/2004 12:18:51 AM PST by HAL9000
Shootings of the forces of the coalition on the demonstrators Shiites
The forces of the coalition opened fire Sunday on thousands of partisans of the head radical Shiite Moqtada Sadr who moved towards the Spanish base of the multinational force, located at 5 km of the Holy City of Najaf, noted a journalist of the AFP.
"It has there shootings, shootings one the demonstrators and people run in all the directions to hide", affirmed the journalist, who saw five people lying per ground.
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The demonstrators had arrived close to the base to go to Koufa, city close to Najaf, in the center of Iraq, where is the offices of Moqtada Sadr. The sirens of the ambulances were heard on the spot.
Three killed and out of tens of wounded in Najaf (hospital)
Three people were killed and of tens of others wounded when troops of the coalition opened fire Sunday on demonstrators Shiites in Najaf, affirmed with the AFP Mohammad Hussein Al-Husseini, doctor at hospital Al-Sadrein of the city.
"We received three died and of tens of casualties, but the assessment is likely to be allourdir because there are always casualties who arrive at the hospital", it affirmed.
Ok. Works every time. What's the problem?
Coalition troops fire on Shiite protestors in Iraq holy city
Coalition troops opened fire on thousands of supporters of Shiite Muslim radical leader Moqtada Sadr headed towards the headquarters of the Spanish-led Plus Ultra Brigade on the outskirts of this Shiite holy city, an AFP correspondent witnessed.
There were at least five people lying wounded on the ground, amid the sound of explosions and gunfire, the correspondent said.
Ambulances rushed to the scene.
The Sadr supporters had been marching from Najaf to the neighbouring shrine town of Kufa, passing the Plus Ultra base on their way.
Pro-Sadr demonstrations also erupted Sunday around Baghdad and in the southern port city of Basra.
The Shiite radicals, who have consistently opposed the US-led coalition and the interim bodies it has set up in Iraq, have mounted daily protests for the past week over the coalition's suspension of their newspaper, Al-Hawza.
US forces, Shiites brace for protests in Baghdad; two US marines killed in western Iraq
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The US-led coalition braced for bloodshed in Iraq's capital as mosques linked to a fireband Shiite cleric called for a general strike and the Americans shut the entrances to their Baghdad headquarters in anticipation of violent demonstrations.
The loudspeakers of Shiite mosques, affiliated with cleric Moqtada Sadr, called Sunday morning for religious followers to conduct a mass strike and for Sadr's paramilitary Medhi army to gather in the capital.
Separately the US military said insurgents killed two US marines in western Iraq.
In Baghdad, US troops and Shiites braced for confrontation after a night of protests in Baghdad that saw Sadr supporters throw themselves at US tanks blocking their path toward the coalition headquarters as they headed to protest Saturday.
A police officer said two demonstrators were crushed by the tanks, but it was impossible to confirm his account.
Baghdad has been rocked by demonstrations since last Sunday when US forces shut down al-Hawza newspaper, a pro-Sadr publication, for 60 days on charges of inciting violence and hostility against the coalition.
Sadr's supporters again took to the street Saturday around central and southern Iraq after his movement claimed one of the young cleric's top aides, Sheikh Mustafa Yaacubi, had been arrested. However, the coalition refused to confirm or deny the report.
An advisory from the US consulate in Iraq warned that the coalition feared the protests Sunday could turn violent and announced it was shutting the entrances to their sprawling headquarters, better known as the Green Zone from 5 am to 12 pm.
"With the concurrence of Ambassador Bremer, travel outside the Green Zone from 0500 - 1200 hrs on Sunday 4 April 04 will be prohibited due to large demonstrations at ALL Green Zone check points," the advisory read.
"These demonstrations have a very high probability of turning violent."
Bearing out the coalition's worries, Shiite mosques around Baghdad called for Sadr's followers to turn out in force Sunday.
"Loyal people of Iraq, in protest of the detention of religious clerics by the occupaion forces, the decision has been taken to general strike at all government institutions an schools, so we call on you to answer this call," the loudspeakers blared from mosques.
"Mehdi army members should immediately head to Mosque Mohsen al-Hakim in Sadr City."
Sadr, the scion of an illustrious Shiite family, has clashed repeatedly with US forces since last summer, but has intensified his verbal barrage against the coalition in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, two US marines were killed in action by insurgents in the restive western Iraqi province of Al-Anbar, the US military said.
"Two marines assigned to the 1st Marine Division have been killed as a result of enemy action in the Al-Anbar province," the military said in a statement.
"One marine was killed in action yesterday. The other marine died today from wounds received in separate action yesterday."
The military declined to give any further information on the incidents, citing security reasons.
AP News AlertNAJAF, Iraq (AP) -- At least four Iraqis killed in protest in southern Iraqi city of Najaf, witnesses and hospital worker say.
Gunfire Heard During Iraqi Protest
NAJAF, Iraq (AP) -- Gunfire rang out during a protest Sunday by thousands of supporters of an anti-American Muslim cleric who had gathered outside the headquarters of Spanish troops. At least two protesters were injured, witnesses said.
It was unclear who opened fire during the demonstration in the southern holy city of Najaf. The crowd was protesting the reported detention of an aide to Muqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric who opposes the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq.
Some 5,000 people marched to the garrison of the Spanish military contingent in Najaf after hearing that Mustafa al-Yacoubi, a senior al-Sadr aide, had been detained.
Spanish troops in the area have said they have no information on al-Yacoubi's reported detention and did not take part in any such operation. They had no immediate comment on the demonstration.
Coalition troops fire on Iraqi protesters
NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Spanish-led coalition troops in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf have fired on Iraqi protesters, wounding about 40 of them, witnesses say.
A Reuters photographer at the scene on Sunday said troops fired from several directions and several of the wounded were seriously hurt, prompting clashes between the troops and militiamen loyal to a radical Shi'ite cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr. The protests had erupted over the arrest of an aide to the cleric.
Witnesses said the troops opened fire when thousands of protesters tried to enter a coalition base on the edge of the city. Spanish, El Salvadorean and other Spanish-speaking troops are headquartered at the base.
Ambulances were at the scene to try to help the injured. Iraqis transported some of the wounded to hospital in their cars because there were too few ambulances.
Deck the streets with parts of Sadr, fa-la-la-la a'la fallujah.
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