Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of southern Iraq's largest city of Basra Thursday in support of a call by Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric for direct elections to be held within a period of months to select a sovereign Iraqi government.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani's, the spiritual leader of most of Iraq's majority Shiites, has been demanding the next legislature be elected, denying Washington's crucial backing for its plan to let regional caucuses select a provisional assembly.
According to the US plan, a transitional Iraqi assembly - to be chosen by regional committees - would select an interim government ahead of full elections in the year 2005.
The Basra demonstration was the latest indication that many of Iraq's majority Shi'ite Muslims are supporting Sistani's call.
Earlier this week, al-Sistani, who met with officials from the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, said the US plan would give birth to an "illegitimate Iraqi government".
The protesters marched to a mosque in Basra waving banners and photos of Sistani, although he himself was not expected to attend.
In the meantime, a top Basra cleric, Ali al-Hakim al-Safi, told the crowd at the mosque that at this stage, Shi'ites would seek their goals by peaceful means.
"We do not need to use violence to get our rights while there are still peaceful ways we can work together," he said, according to Reuters. "But if we find peaceful means are no longer available to us we will have to seek other methods."
Meanwhile, the US Army declared on Thursday that seven Iraqis were killed by American forces in three separate incidents Wednesday.
Soldiers shot dead six Iraqis in two attacks around the town of Baquba, Sergeant Robert Cargie said Thursday, according to AFP.
Another Iraqi was killed and one wounded near Tikrit, Cargie added.
Also in Tikrit area, a bus packed with university students was blown apart by a landmine leaving three dead. The attack on the Tikrit university vehicle was described as "cowardly" by the US military. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
