WRAP pro-Saddam rally sees banned RPGs on display in flashpoint town

1. Crowd chanting, holding picture of Saddam over their heads
2. Pans to boy being held above shoulders as man dances with gun (AK-type assault rifle)
3. Masked gunmen sit on motorbike, one with RPG (rocket propelled grenade) launcher crowd chants "Saddam" around them
4. Pan from crowd to man firing gun
5. Man holding gun aloft surrounded by chanting crowds
6. Boys chant "Saddam"
7. Young man sitting on shoulders of another man, holding a gun and chanting
8. Pans to man holding picture of Saddam
9. Various of people chanting holding Saddam poster
10. Elderly woman in hijab (Islamic headscarf) holding gun and chanting
11. Top shot of crowd with poster of Saddam, audio of gunfire
12. Man holding gun
13. Over the shoulder shot of man with RPG launcher on balcony looking down over crowd, audio of gunfire
14. Man with RPG launcher on balcony looking down over crowd, audio of gunfire
15. Crowd standing around, audio of gunfire
16. Man walking down the street firing machinegun into the air
17. Top shot of crowd chanting and holding picture of Saddam, audio of gunfire
18. Arch with Saddam on it, audio of gunfire
19. Crowd at rally, man firing (on the camera left) , tractor drives past, audio of gunfire
20. People at rally march off, man firing in the air leading them

STORYLINE:

Firing into the air and parading forbidden weapons, people in Fallujah took to the streets to mark the anniversary of the 1968 Baathist revolution that brought Saddam's political party to power.

Saddam himself seized power 11 years later and many posters of the former leader were held aloft during the demonstration.

Fallujah lies within an area which has become known as the "Sunni Triangle," where support for Saddam still runs strong and where most of the attacks against US forces are taking place on an almost daily basis.

US Forces of the 3rd Infantry Division were less than a mile from the demonstration, yet despite the frequent gunfire from demonstrators firing into the air they did not intervene.

Normally the sound of gunfire draws an immediate response from coalition forces in the area as would such a display of weapons.

Although AK47s and similar small arms are permitted by the coalition, if they are kept at home, they're not allowed to be carried on the street - this was openly defied at the demonstration.

However, RPG launchers, which have frequently been used by anti-coalition fighters to attack US convoys - causing dozens of deaths among US soldiers, are absolutely forbidden.

Anyone spotted by coalition forces with such a weapon is normally either fired upon or arrested.

But several RPG launchers, which are capable of destroying lightly armoured vehicles such as trucks and humvees, were in evidence at today's rally.

The 3rd Infantry Division is based around Fallujah, but it has handed over responsibility for patrolling and policing to local police after a series of bloody confrontations with the town's inhabitants.

Morale is at a low in this division as the soldiers were recently told that their tour of duty in Iraq was to be extended indefinitely.


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