Chanting anti-American slogans, thousands in two west African countries marched Tuesday to protest the US and British-led war in Iraq.
Some 3 000 citizens took to the streets of Cotonou, Benin’s main city, while 1 000 marched for peace in Ouagadougou, capital of neighboring Burkina Faso.
The separately organised protests were the first against the war in either of the impoverished countries. In Benin, demonstrators demanded that US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair face a war-crimes tribunal, while in Ouagadougou, protesters shouted ”Bush: Assassin.”
”We’re saying loud and clear that the United States must leave Iraq and cease bombing and killing innocent people,” said Moussahoudou Ligali, the representative for Benin’s Muslim community, which arranged the Cotonou march together with labor organisations.
Muslim demonstrators in both countries cried ”Allah Akhbar,” or ”God is Great.”
Muslims comprise 20% of Benin’s seven-million people, while 40% of Burkina Faso’s 12-million people follow Islam.
Both marches ended peacefully, with no arrests or injuries reported.
West Africa — which has a large Muslim population — has seen numerous anti-war protests in recent weeks.
About 40 000 people took to the streets in defiance of a state ban on anti-American protests in Mauritania and thousands have also demonstrated in Niger and Senegal. – Sapa-AP