Shiites Rally In Central Pakistan To Condemn U.S. Attacks On Najaf

MULTAN, Aug 23 (AFP) - Some 200 Shiite Muslims Monday staged a demonstration in this central Pakistan city against US attacks near their holiest shrine in Iraqi city of Najaf.
Protestors marched and condemned what they called the desecration of the Imam Ali shrine.
"The United States wants to occupy the oil resources of Muslim states on the pretext of terrorism and the hunt for Al-Qaeda," Shiite leader Syed Anis Haider Naqvi told the rally.
The protestors carried placards reading: "Stop US barbaric operation in Iraq, Najaf", "Stop bombing holy places", "Down with America and Britain" "Bush and allied forces are terrorists" and "Desecration of sacred places will not be tolerated".
The Mehdi Army has occupied the complex, one of the holiest sites in the Shiite world, since their April uprising.
US gunships pounded positions held by militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr near the shrine overnight, as continued fighting dimmed hopes of an end to the two-week-old standoff.