Baghdad protesters denounce 'occupation'

Thousands of people marched after Friday prayers

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Baghdad after Friday
prayers, to protest against what they see as a foreign occupation of their
country.

The marchers carried flags and banners saying "No to occupation" and
demanding that the unity of Iraq be preserved. The BBC's Christian Fraser in
Baghdad says it is the biggest demonstration of Arab nationalism since the
end of the war, and shows what powerful sentiments the US-led invasion of
Iraq has stirred up. It came as foreign ministers from Egypt and the
countries neighbouring Iraq held talks in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh,
to discuss how to influence the post-war situation in the region. The foreign
ministers of Saudi Arabia and Egypt said before the meeting began that the US
should withdraw its forces quickly and allow Iraqis to choose their own
government. The BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo says that - although the countries
represented at the meeting have had uneasy relations in the past - they are
united by their fear that chaos in Iraq could bring more instability to the
region.

Tensions
The protesters were led by a respected and well-known Sunni Muslim scholar,
Ahmed al-Kubaisi.

He is reported to have used his sermon to denounce the American-led invasion,
whose purpose, he said, was to defend Israel. Our correspondent says there
was a tense confrontation earlier when an American patrol stumbled into a
crowd kneeling outside a mosque. He says the worshippers surged forward
angrily, but the US commander skilfully withdrew his troops and defused the
situation. The troops had entered the area of the mosque to distribute
humanitarian aid. It was the first full Friday prayers since Baghdad fell to
US-led forces last week.

Future relations

The talks in Riyadh - the first such meeting since the start of the war - are
to address the reconstruction of Iraq and the issue of how to deal with a
future US-led administration in Baghdad.

MIDDLE EAST AFTER SADDAM
The after-effects of the war for the region

Egypt and Iran have already said they would not recognise such a government.
Officials say the ministers may decide to issue a public declaration of
support for Syria, which the US has accused of harbouring fugitive members of
Saddam Hussein's regime and of developing chemical weapons. Our correspondent
says the Riyadh meeting will give Iraq's wary neighbours - Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, Iran, and Turkey, plus Egypt and Bahrain - the chance
to assess each other's intentions. She says many in the Middle East fear the
US has now occupied Iraq and will manipulate any future government there.

Hunt for weapons
As decisions are made about who will run Iraq in the interim, US President
George W Bush has urged the UN to lift its economic sanctions against Iraq,
freeing up sales of its oil.

"It is not like a treasure hunt where you just run around looking everywhere,
hoping you find something."

But diplomats who for many years have called for an end to the sanctions,
which were imposed in 1990 following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, are now
calling for a delay. They say the restrictions should remain until the UN
certifies that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction. US Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he does not believe they will be found
unless Iraqis knowledgeable about the arms programmes reveal their
whereabouts. "It is not like a treasure hunt where you just run around
looking everywhere, hoping you find something. "I think what will happen is
we'll discover people who will tell us where to go find it," he said.

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