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Shiites Across Iraq Protest U.S. Presence
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Sadr has called for any pact reached with the Americans to be put to a referendum, so that his followers can "collect millions of signatures" rejecting it. He has vowed to hold protests across Iraq every week after Friday prayers until the plan is canceled.
Demonstrations Friday also took place in the southern cities of Kut, Nasiriyah and Najaf. In Kufa, 2,500 protesters marched from Kufa mosque to another mosque, chanting: "We would rather die than compromise. No, no, America."
Many protesters carried pistols, which they laid on prayer mats as they prayed. Photographers and television cameramen were told not to zoom in on faces because senior Mahdi Army figures who had fled the government crackdown in other provinces were present.
There were no major protests in the southern city of Basra. Many of Sadr's followers have fled or gone underground since an Iraqi government offensive there in late March.
Sadrists in Basra accuse Iraqi forces of representing their Shiite rivals, not the government, saying they are trying to weaken the cleric's supporters before local elections later this year. Iraqi army commanders in Basra have denied the allegations.
Such sentiments were also heard Friday in Sadr City, suggesting that Sadr's followers are wary of at least some of the Iraqi soldiers in their community.
"Some of the soldiers here are militia belonging to some parties but wearing uniforms of the government," Sheik Muhanned al-Gharawi told the thousands of protesters.
He warned that those soldiers who turned against Sadr followers for political reasons would be "pointed out" and action would be taken. But he noted that many of their "brothers" in the Iraqi army were joining them this day in prayers and protest.
Gharawi spent the rest of his sermon denouncing the pact that would allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq. "The agreement is dipped in poison, not in honey," he told the crowds. "The cancer has spread and has to be removed."
When the sermon ended, the crowds stood up and chanted and waved Iraqi flags. Some sang, "We are with you, Sayyid Moqtada."
"Get out, get out, occupier," others chanted.
Special correspondents Saad al-Izzi in Baghdad and Saad Sarhan in Najaf contributed to this report.
