Shia leader urges Baghdad protest

Mr Sadr urged his supporters to gather in Firdos Square, where a statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down on 9 April 2003 as millions watched on TV.

It would be a peaceful protest urging US troops to leave, a spokesman said.

The demonstrators would also press for quicker trials for Saddam Hussein and his aides, Mr Sadr's spokesman added.

Supporters have been preparing for the rally since Friday evening, hanging anti-US banners on columns surrounding the square.

Sunni clerics from the Association of Muslim Scholars have asked their supporters to join the demonstration.

Little has been heard from Mr Sadr in recent months after the failure of uprisings by his followers in many parts of central and southern Iraq.

The cleric's Mehdi Army militia fought street battles against US forces in the southern city of Najaf and Baghdad's Sadr City slum for several months, but in October he urged fighters to hand in their weapons.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4427151.stm