Hundreds march in Turkish cities against US-led invasion of Iraq

ANKARA - Several hundred people took to the streets in Turkish cities Saturday to protest at the war in Iraq, two years after the US-led invasion of the country to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.
In Ankara, Istanbul and Adana, which all host US diplomatic missions, demonstrators denounced the Iraqi "occupation".
"United States, leave Iraq," a banner read in Istanbul as protesters shouted anti-US slogans under the watchful eyes of a massive police force, Anatolia news agency said.
In the capital Ankara, protestors, stopped from getting close to the US embassy, shouted: "Stop the occupation of Iraq; Iraq to the Iraqis."
The protests were organized by political parties and trade unions.
Turkey, a secular country whose predominantly Muslim population was opposed to the invasion of Iraq, had turned down US requests for American forces to be able to attack Iraq from Turkish territory.

03/19/2005 14:30 GMT