Protesters call for 'army of occupation' to quit Iraq

More than 20,000 people marched through Baghdad yesterday in the biggest anti-American protest so far, just nine days after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The demonstrators poured on to the streets from mosques after the first Friday prayers since United States forces captured the Iraqi capital.

Waving Korans, placards and banners, they demanded the establishment of an Islamic state and the withdrawal of the "army of occupation".

The protest, well organised and orderly, sent a forceful signal of the widespread and steadily growing anger against the American forces and the near-anarchy that has followed their arrival. Days of looting have gone unchecked and US authorities are also being blamed for not restoring electricity and water to the capital.

Shia and Sunni clerics urged the congregation, in fiery sermons, to show their bitterness to the Americans. The marchers came from several mosques and converged in Azamiyah, a central district, for the peaceful protest.

One of the biggest contingents came from Abi Hanifah Nouman mosque, the dome of which was damaged by the bombing. Ahmed al-Kubaisi, the imam, said in his sermon that the US had invaded Iraq to defend Israel, and denied Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. "This is not the America we know, which respects international law, respects the right of people," he said.

In Shia areas of Baghdad, including Sadr City, the text of a speech by Ayatollah Mohammed Emami-Kashani, an influential cleric, was read out. It said: "Unite with each other and send America and Britain out of your country. It is a duty for the Iraqi nation."

As they gathered in the streets, the marchers chanted: "Leave our country, Iraq belongs to Iraqis." Banners in English and Arabic declared: "No to America. No to Secular State. Yes to Islamic State", "We reject American hegemony", "No Bush, No Saddam, Yes Yes to Islam", "No Shias, no Sunnis. Yes, Yes for United Islam" and "We want true freedom, not American puppets".

The organisers of the march were from a hitherto unknown body called the Iraqi National United Movement, which said it had formed to represent opposition to a US presence in all sections of the Muslim community. The organisation said: "We must oppose the federal government the US wants to set up in the coming few days. Our movement wants every Iraqi to take part in rebuilding and set up a new modern state."