Anti-Maliki protests held in Baghdad Shiite bastion
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Followers of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr staged protests in Baghdad denouncing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday after he launched a crackdown on Shiite militia in the southern city of Basra.
The protests began around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) outide the office of the Sadr movement in its Baghdad bastion, the impoverished Sadr City district of some two million people.
"Maliki you are a coward! Maliki is an American agent! Leave the government, Maliki! How can you strike Basra?" shouted the crowd as they began gathering in the area while Iraqi and US troops sealed off the streets.
The Sadr group announced on Wednesday that it would hold protest rallies against Maliki in Baghdad and the southern city of Amara after he launched a crackdown in Mahdi Army strongholds in Basra.
Iraqi forces have been fighting raging battles with gunmen in Basra since the operation began on Tuesday.
An AFP correspondent said the city was rocked again on Thursday by rocket propelled grenade, mortar and small arms fire.
Sadr has threatened to launch a civil revolt if the attacks against the militiamen are not halted.
