Rare march in Baghdad against new U.S. wall

By Haider Salahuddin

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - More than a thousand Iraqis marched in west Baghdad on Saturday in a rare public demonstration to protest against a wall they say the U.S. military is planning to erect around their neighborhood.

Carrying an Iraqi national flag and banners condemning the wall the marchers in the predominantly Shi'ite district of al-Washash chanted "No, no to the wall. No, no to America."

The U.S. military sparked international outrage earlier this year when it began erecting a high concrete barrier to shield the Sunni Arab enclave of Adhamiya in east Baghdad from neighboring Shi'ite communities.

While tens of thousands of Iraqis often mass for religious festivals, a pervasive fear of violence means public protests against U.S. or Iraqi government policy are seldom seen.

"Today we are saying no to the occupiers, no to the wall and no to all these disgraceful actions," said Abu Jalal al-Saraji, one of the local tribal leaders in al-Washash in Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Arab west Baghdad.

The U.S. military had no immediate comment.

The military has said it is erecting concrete walls in at least five Baghdad neighborhoods. The aim is to protect the areas from gunmen as part of a U.S. security crackdown, launched in mid-February, which involves 30,000 extra U.S. troops.

The security push is seen as a final attempt by the U.S. military to stem sectarian violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs and prevent all-out civil war.