Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators have rallied in both Bangladesh's capital and the eastern Indian city of Calcutta to protest the US led invasion of Iraq.
About 50-thousand demonstrators marched through downtown Dhaka today (Saturday) chanting anti-U-S slogans and demanding coalition troops leave Iraq.
Hundreds of riot police and paramilitary troops lined the streets, but no violence was reported. The protest was organized by both leftist and Islamic parties as well as anti-war citizens groups.
In Calcutta, about 15-thousand protesters formed a human chain around the U-S and British consulates, blocking traffic in the city's main shopping center. Armed police stood guard, but there were no reports of violence.
Both the governments of Bangladesh and India have expressed opposition to the war in Iraq.