Middle East News
Iraqis celebrate US withdrawal at mass rally
Dec 30, 2011, 12:39 GMT
Baghdad- Thousands of Iraqis gathered in the capital Baghdad on Friday to celebrate the withdrawal of US troops from the country after nearly nine years of military involvement.
Led by clergy, they chanted slogans against the 'occupation' that started in 2003 and called the pullout earlier this month a 'day of liberation and evacuation.'
They also raised placards reading: 'The evacuation day makes all Iraqis united'; and 'Despite tyranny, we are an eternal nation.'
The rally, held in Baghdad's neighbourhood of al-Azamiya, coincided with a deep political crisis pitting Iraq's Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki against two key Sunni politicians.
The United States had about 170,000 troops and 505 military bases across Iraq at the height of the armed conflict that began with its 2003 invasion.
Efforts by both sides to extend the US mission beyond that deadline failed, as the Iraqi government was reluctant to grant immunity to any US troops who stay after December 31.
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