Tens of thousands of Iraqis rallied across Iraq Saturday, demanding a swift withdrawal of foreign forces two years after they toppled former President Saddam Hussein. (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

(Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

(Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

    BAGHDAD, April 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Tens of thousands of Iraqis rallied across Iraq Saturday, demanding a swift withdrawal of foreign forces two years after they toppled former President Saddam Hussein.

    The demonstrators, most of them supporters of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, chanted "No, no to terrorism," "No, no to America" and "No, no to occupation" as they marched through Baghdad streets toward Firdus Square (Paradise Square) where a towering statue of Saddam was pulled down two years ago.

    Some supporters brandished the notorious picture of a naked Iraqi detainee with wires attached to his body, a reminder of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

    The effigies of US President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and toppled Saddam donned in orange prison jump suits were burned in the streets.

    Police vehicles cordoned off the main roads in central Baghdad and two major bridges across the Tigris River that bisect the city. US forces kept a distance from the rally.

    Sadr staged an uprising in 2004 across central and southern Iraq against US forces and his supporters controlled the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala last summer.

    His militia relinquished control of Najaf in August after amonth-long battle pitting US forces and his Mehdi Army that left thousands of his soldiers dead and the city in ruins. 

    Similar demonstrations were also held in other Iraqi cities, including Ramadi, capital of the restive Anbar Province west of Baghdad.

    Thousands of people took to the streets in Sofiyah area incentral Ramadi as US troops blocked the roads in front of the protestors, witnesses said.

    There were no reports of violence as tribal leaders of the cityasked the protestors to be peaceful.

    Sunni clerics also called on their followers to protest on the second anniversary of the fall of Baghdad, but officials in the influential Association of Muslim Scholars refused to disclose where or when the gatherings will take place.  Enditem