Thousands of Bangladeshi people took the streets Friday for the second consecutive day to protest the Anglo-American aggression on Iraq and urged the peace-loving people of the world to resist the “evil forces”.

“World Muslims should get united. Not only Iraq is the target of U.S., they will capture Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Muslim countries gradually,” cautioned Khatib of national Mosque Moulana Obaidul Haq while addressing a huge rally organized in protest against the attack the U.S.-led war on Iraq.

The rally was organized by lawmaker Mufti Fazlul Haq Amini, a leader of Islami Oikya Jote, an ally of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s government.

Angry protestors flocked to the streets after Friday prayers from different parts of the city chanting “Bush is dangerous for the world, stop him,” “Warmonger Bush, don’t destroy humanity,” “No war for Oil” and “Saddam go ahead, we are with you”.

Some youths brandishing dummy rifles paraded city streets boarding on an artificial cannon.

Moulana Obaidul Haq urged Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to evacuate the American military bases there.

He exhorted Muslims around the world to boycott American products and called on Arab countries to use their oil resources “as weapons” against the American and British aggressors.

Mufti Fazlul Haq Amini appealed to the speakers not to make any provocative speeches, adding protests should be peaceful.

After the Friday prayers, worshippers in all the mosques offered special prayers seeking divine blessings for protecting Muslims.

The authorities deployed huge number of law enforcement officials to avert any untoward incidents.

Meanwhile, the left leaning 11-party alliance and some Islamic groups have called for a countrywide half-day strike Saturday, March 22, in protest against what they said America-British imperialist aggression on Iraq.

Pro-Islamic groups, left-leaning political parties, student organizations and professional bodies urged the people to join hands.

Bangladesh called for avoiding civilian casualty and minimizing suffering of the Iraqi people and made a strong plea for preservation of Iraq’s territorial integrity.

“Situation in Iraq is developing fast, we’re keeping a close eye on it… and hope that a solution could be arrived at as early as possible,” Foreign Secretary Shamser Mobin Chowdhury told reporters at the Foreign Ministry on the second day of the war.

“We regret that war could not be avoided,” he said.

Asked if he felt that the territorial integrity of Iraq would be threatened by the war, Chowdhury said territorial integrity of every state is sacrosanct.

On Washington’s reported request to shut down Iraqi missions, he said Bangladesh didn’t receive any specific request.

Asked if Bangladesh would join postwar reconstruction of Iraq, the Foreign Secretary said Bangladesh would definitely engage in the reconstruction of Iraq under U.N. arrangement.

In Nepal, riot police fired into the air and baton-charged about 500 students staging an anti-U.S. Friday before arresting two of them, witnesses said.

The pro-leftist All-Nepal National Independent Students' Union (ANNISU) organized the protest against and later burned the U.S. flag and effigies of Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The central secretary of the union, Thakur Gaire, claimed about a dozen students were injured in the melee.

The Amrit Science Campus students staged the protest for about three hours before they were dispersed, he said.

The students denounced the military action against Iraq and demanded the war be halted.

"Similar demonstrations were held at 46 campuses in Kathmandu but no serious incidents occurred," Gaire said.

There has been also an overwhelmingly negative reaction in Africa to the start of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.

South African President Thabo Mbeki expressed regret over the U.S. strikes against Baghdad, saying the war "is a blow to multilateralizm".

African Union Secretary General Amara Essy said the launch of the war had caused grief and deep regret among its members, the BBC News Online reported.

Public protests have already taken place in some cities across Africa, especially in countries where there are large Muslim communities.

However, Nigeria, which has an election looming and a big Muslim population, has banned public demonstrations.

Nigeria says some of its citizens had been recruited to fight for Iraq against U.S.-led forces and are preparing to leave.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka said full scale war could have been avoided through dialogue.

In Mauritania, another Muslim country, several hundred people including MPs, took to the streets of the capital to march against the war.

In Somalia, people are glued to their television sets and businesses express concern that goods from the Gulf region could be interrupted by the war.

Algeria and Morocco regretted that military force had supplanted diplomacy as the means to defuse the standoff.

Tanzania said it was saddened by America and its allies for attacking Iraq, the BBC News Online added.

Madagascar's Foreign Minister General Marcel Ranjeva told national radio: "Our hope is that the war does not last because peace is more important than anything else."

Burkina Faso's prime minister told parliament it "stands resolutely on the side of the peace camp and calls for an end to hostilities."