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(Xinhua Photo)

    MADRID, March 12 (Xinhuanet) -- "I come to ask the ETA not to kill people any more!" a little girl sincerely told Xinhua reporter on Friday in the Spanish capital of Madrid.

    She had walked several kilometers with her mother in a rainy, chilly weather to the Plaza de Colon in Madrid for a mass demonstration against the bloody bomb attacks which ripped through four commuter trains here on Thursday morning.

    Along with the girl aged eight, millions of protesters took to rain-soaked streets across Spain on Friday condemning the series of explosions which claimed 199 lives and wounded about 1,500 others.

    Spain has blamed the attacks on the separatist group Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA) which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, but the ETA has refuted the accusation.

    Raising their arms and chanting "Assassins" and "Stop now," thecalm but angry protesters packed the downtown Madrid, the Cibeles square and the area several kilometers around.

    Their umbrellas formed a colorful river along the thoroughfares.The first row even refused to use any protection but braved pouring rain.

    "It is not raining, the sky is crying" and "We were all going in that train," several placards read.

    Spanish Crown Prince Felipe, his sisters, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and other political leaders headed the march to show national unity, just as a post said, "With the victims, with the constitution, for the defeat of terrorism."

    It was the first time for Spanish royal family members to take part in a march.

    European Commission President Romano Prodi and the prime ministers of France, Italy and Portugal were also there.

    The Spanish government estimated that about 2.3 million people participated in the demonstration, the most crowded one since Madrid was painted with blood and mourning in rush hour on Thursday.

    Massive crowds paralyzed the area from the Castilla square to the Glorieta de Atocha which was struck by the explosions. The vehicles carrying protesters formed long lines along the roads, while public transport system worked to its full capacity all afternoon.

    After Aznar voiced the march call on Thursday which received support from all political parties, an astonishing part of the Spanish population swarmed into streets in the protest against thekillings.

    The police said that a total of 11.4 million people joined the demonstration choir as the sea of fury and grief swept across the European country. Besides the 2.3 million in the capital Madrid, the cities of Barcelona and Valencia also saw a protest of 1.5 million people respectively.

    Also on Friday, the relatives of the victims were rushing to the international exhibition center in Madrid to identify the bodies lying there.

    Some of the bodies have been sent away in purple hearses, whilesome family members just arrived there to look for their beloved with grief.

    Their heartbreaking facial expression explicitly explained why Spaniards will hold the massive rally to protest the bomb attacks.Enditem