Thousands of Iraqis March, Demanding U.S. Withdrawal

AP 18apr03

Senior Baath Party Leader Is Captured; Tapes Said to Depict Hussein on April 9

Thousands of Iraqis marched in downtown Baghdad on Friday to demand a rapid U.S. troop withdrawal, while a prominent opposition leader said he expects Americans to relinquish most government functions within weeks.

North of Baghdad, American forces destroyed a hidden ammunitions cache. The U.S. took a leader of the old regime into custody -- the second such capture in as many days.

The debate over Saddam Hussein's fate was rekindled with the appearance of a videotape said to show him and an audiotape allegedly containing a recorded message by him.

Urged on by an imam at Holy Day prayers, the protesters shouted, "No to America, no to Saddam." Some carried banners in Arabic and English. "Leave our country. We want peace," read one.

Inside the mosque, Sheik Ahmed al-Kubeisy addressed his remarks to Americans. "You are masters today. But I warn you against thinking of staying. Get out before we force you out," he said.

Opposition leader Ahmed Chalabi and followers of his Iraqi National Congress established makeshift headquarters in two social clubs in the city's affluent Mansour district. Armored U.S. vehicles and elements of the new Free Iraqi Forces provided security. After years of exile, Mr. Chalabi was flown into Iraq recently by American forces, and some in-country opposition figures have complained he was getting preferential treatment from the Pentagon.

In his first public appearance in Baghdad, Mr. Chalabi said anew that he isn't a candidate to become Iraq's new leader. He didn't indicate a preference for a successor to the old regime.

He said he expects an Iraqi interim authority to take over most government functions from the U.S. military in "a matter of weeks rather than months."

He said he envisions "first reconstruction of basic services" under the control of Jay Garner, the retired American lieutenant general poised to run a military administration. Once that is done, Mr. Chalabi said, the U.S. military will search for weapons of mass destruction, dismantle the old regime's "apparatus of terror" and disarm its army. Gen. Garner's office had no immediate comment.

U.S. Studies Supposed Hussein Tapes

The new videotape and audiotape added to the mystery surrounding Mr. Hussein's fate. Abu Dhabi television said they were made on April 9, the day Baghdad fell and the regime collapsed countrywide. But there was no evidence of that. Nor was there proof that the Iraqi leader -- who was known to use doubles as a security precaution -- was involved in either production.

Abu Dhabi television on Friday broadcast footage it said was Saddam Hussein moving through a cheering crowd of supporters on April 9.

The videotape showed a man purported to be Mr. Hussein in the streets of Baghdad, greeted by a wildly cheering crowd.

The audiotape carried a speech that appeared to acknowledge the American military triumph. "Conquered people are the ones who eventually triumph over invaders. ... Your leadership is unshaken," it said.

American officials said they couldn't immediately say whether either tape was authentic.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi ambassador said he believes the man who ruled Iraq for nearly a quarter century is dead.

"I know his character," said Sami Sadoun, a longtime regime official who most recently has been envoy to Serbia-Montenegro. "He must have been killed, or everything would not have collapsed so quickly," he said in an interview with The Associated Press

April 9 -- when the tapes allegedly were recorded -- was also two days after American bombs destroyed a building in Baghdad where Mr. Hussein and his two sons were believed to be meeting. "I did not get any instructions, not even a single fax" after the bombing, Mr. Sadoun said.

Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks told reporters at the U.S. Central Command headquarters that experts had made "initial surveys" of the bomb site but didn't know whether Mr. Hussein or his sons had been killed.

Two More Figures of Hussein's Regime in Custody

Emad Husayn Abdullah al-Ani, a scientist accused of being involved in Iraq's development the nerve agent VX turned himself, said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Gen. Brooks also announced that forces had captured Samir Abd al-Aziz al-Najim, the Baath Party Regional Command Chairman for east Baghdad, the four of clubs on the Pentagon's deck of cards showing most-wanted Iraqis. He was handed over by Kurds near the northern city of Mosul overnight, Gen. Brooks said.

At the same time, the Pentagon reported the release of 887 Iraqi prisoners taken in the war who were determined to be noncombatants. Officials said American and British forces continue to hold 6,850 prisoners.

American and British forces continue to hold 6,850 prisoners, he said.

American forces also struggled to restore power to the city of roughly five million that has been without electricity for two weeks. "Without power, there is no peace," said Haifa Aziz, manager of a power substation. "For hospitals, for schools, for the people, they need electricity."