London, UK, January 20 2007 – Over a thousand protestors from across the UK marched through Central London earlier today to demonstrate against the militant "surge" of US troops to Iraq and the recent US air strikes and intervention in Somalia. The demonstration was organised by the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain.

The demonstrators, who marched to the US embassy in Grosvenor Square, condemned the colonialist aggression of Western governments in Iraq and Somalia. In particular, they condemned Bush's announcement that he would be sending thousands of soldiers to Iraq, in a move that will only result in further anarchy in Iraq and the further deaths of innocent civilians, and the recent US air strikes on civilian populations in Somalia.

At the US embassy, demonstrators heard various speakers from across the Muslim community urge them to speak out against the aggression that was being perpetrated in the name of the "war on terror". Speakers included Taji Mustafa [Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain], Abdullahi Jama [Somali Community Leader], Massoud Shadjareh [Islamic Human Rights Commission] and Maajid Nawaz [Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain]. A message from a Baghdad resident, Abu Abdallah, was also read to the demonstrators.

Dr Imran Waheed, media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, said, "We have sent a strong message that Muslims in Britain will not remain silent at the colonialist aggression of Western governments, whether in Iraq or Somalia. It is obvious that the 'war on terror' is merely a pretence for Western governments to pursue colonial interests in the Muslim world. Muslims desire an immediate end to colonialist intervention in the Muslim world and the return of the Islamic Caliphate which will stand up to this rampant imperialism and end the unstable era of Western supported dictators and tyrants in the Muslim world."

"Bush and Blair created sectarian conflict in Iraq when there was none and have a perennial record of mass murder, stealing resources and denying people their own political authority. In Somalia, in the name of the 'war on terror', Bush has been supporting brutal warlords and unleashing vicious air strikes on civilian populations. The continued military intervention in the Muslim world, whether Iraq or Somalia, is a desperate effort to control the Muslim world and prevent the emergence of the Islamic Caliphate."

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