Thousands of al-Sadr supporters protest US occupation

Thousands of supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr turned out to protest the US-led occupation of Iraq on the sixth anniversary of the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue in a Baghdad square that symbolised the end of his regime.Thousands of supporters of anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday protested the occupation of Iraq, six years after the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue symbolised the fall of his regime.Crowds lined the streets leading to Firdos Square in Baghdad, where Saddam's giant bronze sculpture was wrestled to the ground with the help of US Marines in 2003, an iconic image that signalled the end of his dictatorial rule.Many of the demonstrators chanted "No no America, Yes Yes Iraq" as others carried placards adorned with pictures of Sadr, the radical Shiite leader who became a key figure and symbol of resistance after the US-led invasion.Some protestors waded through mud to reach the head of the procession after Baghdad was hit by a rare bout of rain, which peaked during the morning demonstration.A twin-headed effigy of Saddam and former US president George W. Bush, who ordered the 2003 invasion, was burned at the site of the fallen statue. In a specific gesture of contempt for America, a giant Stars and Stripes flag was laid on nearby ground so that people could stomp over it.However, a message read out by Sadr's spokesman Salah al-Obeidi, directed at new US President Barack Obama, was conciliatory.