Muslims in Kumasi demonstrate against war in Iraq

Muslims in Kumasi on Friday staged a two-hour demonstration in condemnation of the United States-led coalition forces attack on Iraq.

The demonstrators made up mostly of the youth and numbering about 5,000 converged at the Jackson Park just after the Friday prayers and marched through some principal streets of Kumasi in protest against the invasion.

They carried placards some of which read "Bush why are you killing innocent people", "America, is this democracy?", "Why do you preach peace and manufacture weapons", "The world is fed up with war and "Save Iraqi children".

Sheik Ahmed Nasir, who led the demonstration, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that this was just a beginning of demonstrations to be staged by the youth in protest against the war.

Sheik Nasir said it was unfair for the United States and its allies to march to Iraq to fight when even the United Nations (UN) had restrained them.

He called on all peace-loving nations not to support the attack since the US and her allies had set a very dangerous precedence in the history of the UN, pointing out that the war was neither against terrorism nor the destruction of weapons of mass destruction.

Sheik Nasir said the United States should not assume the position of the world's judge since that would be tantamount to creating chaos in the world.

He explained that the demonstration was non-partisan neither was it religious inclined and it was only against an illegality.