Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar reiterated here Tuesday that the United States must pull out from Iraq to give a chance to Iraqis to solve their internal woes by themselves.

    "The continued presence of foreign troops in Iraq would lead to more violence and jeopardize efforts to restore peace there," he said at the parliament, adding "the United States must withdraw its troops from Iraq and Iraq's domestic problems must be resolved by Iraqis themselves."

    The Malaysian foreign minister said earlier Tuesday that Malaysia upheld its stand that foreign troops' presence in Iraq and Afghanistan did not help end the conflict there, but made it worse instead.

    Increasing foreign troops in Iraq also did not solve the problem either, he added.

    Four years ago, the United States led a war against Iraq, which toppled former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Yet, violence still raged on in the country recently despite the presence of tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers across Baghdad.

    Anti-war rallies and demonstrations were also widely reported in various countries throughout the world, including the United States, on the occasion of the 4th anniversary of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

    Two days ago, about 300 Malaysians staged a rally in front of the U.S. embassy in Kuala Lumpur to oppose the war.