Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

Anti-war demonstrators shout during a rally in Hollywood, California March 15, 2008. Protesters rallied on the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Protesters took to the streets on Saturday in many cities across the world to condemn the U.S.-lead invasion of Iraq, according to reports reaching here on Sunday.

    In Los Angeles, some 2,000 people marched through Hollywood, holding banners denouncing President George W. Bush and urged an end to the conflict in Iraq, police said.

    However, organizers of the event put the number of protesters at tens of thousands.

    London police said about 10,000 protestors rallied in the city to mark the upcoming fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, which erupted on March 20, 2003. Protesters there urged the British government to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

    Similar demonstration also took place in the Scottish city of Glasgow, Swedish capital Stockholm, Norway's Oslo and Denmark's Aalborg on the same day.

    While in Canada, some 1,000 people protested in Toronto against a decision by the Canadian parliament to extend the mandate of Canada's 2,500-strong contingent in Afghanistan, local TV reported.

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