Anti-war protests continued to gain momentum with millions of protesters gathered over the weekend in cities across the world.

The Associated Press reported that o­ne of the largest rallies was in Jakarta, Indonesia, where more than 100,000 people chanted "America imperialist, No 1 terrorist!" and peacefully marched about two kilometers from the British Embassy to the US Embassy in the capital.

The report said that outside the US Embassy, speakers demanded the United States pull out of Iraq and said President George W Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Prime Minister John Howard should be tried as war criminals.

AP

also reported that an estimated 100,000 demonstrators ( photo )marched in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar in a protest organized by hard-line Islamic leaders. This gathering was the fourth in a series of large-scale protests in Pakistan's main cities organized by the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal alliance, or United Action Forum, and dubbed the "Million Man March."

Similar protest in Calcutta, India brought the traffic to a halt in the city.

No to dispatching military aid

And in China's elite Peking University staged a quiet demonstration against the US-led war, in a rare instance of campus political activism permitted by Chinese authorities.

About two dozen students set up signboards ( photo ) displaying photographs of wounded Iraqi civilians and passed out handbills criticizing the war. However, police dispersed anti-war protesters who sought to gather in other parts of Beijing, continuing a practice of forbidding most public demonstrations.

Similar protests also took place in cities of US allies.

In South Korea, 30,000 workers protested the war and demanded that the National Assembly reject a government bill that calls for dispatching 600 military engineers and 100 medics to support the war.

More than 2,000 people gathered in Osaka, Japan and formed the Japanese words for "No War" against the backdrop of a medieval castle in this western city, then marched toward the US Consulate.

And in Spain, at least 25,000 people marched to the edge of the Rota Naval and Air Base, which is shared with US forces. Organizers estimated 60,000 people participated. Thousands more marched to military bases in Moron, Zaragoza and Albacete and Torrejon.

Stones and bottles

AP

also reported that in Rabat, Morocco, some of 200,000 demonstrators began throwing stones, burning US flags and tearing down posters advertising American products. The report quoted hospital sources as saying that about a dozen people were injured by stones and bottles before riot police broke up the march.

In Alexandria, Egypt, more than 15,000 students burned US and British flags, demanded boycotts of goods from both countries and called for jihad "to deter the oppressive American aggression".

Egyptians have criticized their government for allowing allied ships to cross the Suez Canal o­n their way to Iraq. Another three US cruisers were crossing the strategic waterway Sunday.

BBC

also reported anti-war demonstrations in major European and Latin American cities.

"Protesters' tactics have ranged from rallies under banners to a "die-in" in Genoa, where people lay down in busy streets to simulate Iraqis killed in air raids, to a naked march ( photo ) through the streets of Bogota," reported BBC.

Sprayed with pepper

And in the US, the city of Boston held what observers said was the biggest march since the Vietnam War. Protesters also turned out in Washington DC, while pro-army activists rallied in San Francisco and other cities.

Several thousands marched in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, while several people were arrested in Pittsburgh and sprayed with pepper spray after blocking traffic.

In New York City, about 100 veterans and family members of Sept 11 victims rallied at ground zero to support troops, waving flags and singing "God Bless America".