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Thousands march against military action
Demonstrators from the Walk Against War Coalition in Sydney
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Hundreds of thousands of people across the world continued to demonstrate against the conflict in Iraq on Saturday, 22nd March.

In the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore 50,000 protesters marched through the streets. Some burnt effigies of the American president.

In Afghanistan, about 1,000 people demonstrated in Metalam, the capital of Lagman province.

Many Afghans have been surprised and in some cases angry at the decision of their government to back the military action.

In Australia, demonstrations continued for a third day on Sunday.

Traffic was bought to a standstill in Sydney by about 30,000 people blowing whistles and banging drums.

In the capital Canberra, about 5,000 people assembled in front of the parliament to scatter flower petals in the shape of peace signs and to encourage drivers to "honk for peace".

'Who is next?'

One demonstrator told the Reuters news agency: "Who's next? Pakistan, India, North Korea? A Pandora's box could be opened, I'm just hoping I'm wrong."

Australia has deployed about 2,000 military personnel to the Gulf.

The chief cleric of India's biggest mosque, the Jama Masjid in New Delhi, led more than 4,000 Muslims in a march through the capital.

Demonstrators protested in the Indonesia capital Jakarta outside the British, US and Australian embassies.

Rallies also took place across the world on Saturday.

In London protesters marched through the capital, ending in an afternoon of speeches in Hyde Park with a crowd of about 200,000 people, according to a police estimate.

The Stop the War Coalition said half a million had attended, still well down on the massive march on 15 February, with fellow organisers CND saying the total was between 200,000 and 300,000.

In New York City, about 100,000 people marched at lunchtime from Times Square to Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park, filling 20 city blocks.

In Washington, several hundred protesters, chanting "No blood for oil," strode through the streets and rallied in front of the White House.

But pro-war rallies were also reported in some cities, like Atlanta, Chicago, and Lansing, Michigan.

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