GIs Beat, Kill, Arrest, Disperse Pro-Saddam Protesters in Tikrit

U.S. soldiers Monday used batons to break up a demonstration in Tikrit to protest against the capture of Saddam Hussein near his hometown.

About 700 demonstrators gathered outside Tikrit University chanting pro-Saddam slogans. Soldiers shouted back “Saddam is in our jail.”

Shorty afterwards, US soldiers charged the protest, beating and arresting some protesters.

Lt. Col. Steven Russell said that
“protests are not authorized and that participation in protests is punishable.”

Meanwhile, there are numerous reports of anti-Saddam demonstrations that are not being broken up, even though they are also not authorized. Many of these protesters are freely firing guns in celebration without any arrests.

UPDATE 12/17/03: US troops killed several protesters as pro-Saddam demonstrations continued across Iraq.