Some 5,000 Spaniards in Barcelona protest against Iraq war

Around 5,000 people took to the streets Saturday in Spain's port city of Barcelona, demanding an end to foreign occupation of Iraq and Palestine.

Chanting "No wars," "Foreign troops out of Iraq and Palestine," the Spaniards joined the international anti-war protests to mark the third anniversary of the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

The demonstrators also protested against what they called secret U.S.prisons across the world, shouting out slogans against Guantanamo-style prisons worldwide.

A statement issued by the crowd also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq, Palestine, the pullback of Spanish troops from Afghanistan, as well as an "explicit and firm" opposition by the Spanish government to the use of force against Iran.

They also urged the government to stop permitting the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to use Spanish airports and avoid further "bleeding for oil."

The United States launched the war on Iraq in March 2003, claiming that the then Saddam Hussein government possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Demonstrators across a number of countries rallied on the third anniversary of the war, which has largely devastated the Middle East country where no weapons of mass destruction have been found.

Source: Xinhua