DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) – Some 3,000 Iraqis have demonstrated in Damascus to protest a security pact approved by Iraq’s parliament last week that lets the Americans stay in Iraq for three more years.
The demonstrators gathered at a square Tuesday in Sayeda Zeinab, which is a holy shrine for Shiite Muslims. They included tribal leaders, students and some followers of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
The protesters carried banners including one that read: “The pact aims to put Iraq under U.S. tutelage.” They also chanted anti-U.S. slogans and called on Iraqi leaders to revoke the pact.
Syria is home to some 1.5 million Iraqi refugees.