U.S. troops opened fire on anti-American demonstrators for the second time this week as Iraqis marched Wednesday to protest the previous shooting. At least three Iraqis were killed, reports said.
The gunfire came less than 48 hours after a shooting during a demonstration Monday night that hospital officials said killed 13 Iraqis. About 1,000 residents were marching down Fallujah's main street and stopped in front of a battalion headquarters of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division. They were carrying signs condemning Monday night's shooting.
When some protesters started throwing rocks and shoes at the U.S.-held compound troops inside suddenly opened fire, according to Associated Press.
"Why? The demonstrators didn't use guns, so why should the soldiers start attacking them?" asked the imam of the Grand Fallujah Mosque, Jamal Shaqir Mahmood.
He said the Americans should pull out of Fallujah — or at least cut back their forces. "There is no (Iraqi) military presence here. Why is there an American military presence? We just want a reduction in the numbers," he said.
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld arrived in Iraq early Wednesday to thank U.S. troops for toppling the government of Saddam Hussein.
After arriving at the Basra airport, Rumsfeld quickly went into a terminal for a briefing with British Maj. Gen. Robin Brim after the two made brief remarks. "A number of human beings have been liberated and they are out from under the heel of a vicious, brutal regime," Rumsfeld said. "I'm very pleased that the United States and the United Kingdom worked so well together."
Brim said he, too, was delighted at how well U.S. and British forces worked together. "There are exceptional capabilities that your military bring that we are very envious of," Brim said.
Rumsfeld's visit to Iraq came the day after he announced that U.S. troops in neighboring Saudi Arabia will leave that country by the end of the summer, marking a major shift in the American military presence in the Persian Gulf.
Later, he arrived in Baghdad to declare Iraq free of Saddam Hussein. Operating out of a palace that once belonged to ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, he promised Iraqis on Wednesday the United States is eager to return the country to their control.
"I am delighted to be able to visit Baghdad and your country and witness the liberation of your country," he said in a message taped for radio and television broadcast in the Baghdad area. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
