Iraq: British and US troops yesterday clashed with hundreds of ex-soldiers from Iraq's disbanded army who were demanding compensation for the loss of their jobs, writes Jack Fairweather in Baghdad.
British soldiers fired rubber bullets at protesters, who threw rocks and set tyres ablaze in the southern city of Basra.
Several hundred protesters gathered yesterday morning after a British soldier shot dead an armed man in Basra on Saturday during clashes with the former soldiers seeking re dundancy payments.
The violence in Basra was some of the worst seen since August, when a string of attacks left four British soldiers dead.
A British army spokesman said, "We are taking the violence over the weekend very seriously. Fortunately [such incidents] are few and far between."
In Baghdad, former soldiers also clashed with US troops for the second day running.
Two hundred Iraqi men shouted and waved anti-coalition banners at one payment centre, where £35 per month compensation is handed out to former soldiers.
The Iraqi army was officially disbanded in May, leaving thousands of troops unemployed.
Following protests over the summer, the former soldiers persuaded the US-led administration to pay them compensation.
Iraq's US-led administration has blamed the weekend of violence on the supporters of the ousted president Saddam Hussein.
A US military spokesman said: "Everyone will get paid who deserves to. There are people out there deliberately stirring up trouble."
American soldiers also came under attack from a barrage of mortar shells yesterday in Bacuba, to the west of Baghdad. No casualties have been reported.
Facing a guerrilla insurgency and mounting financial costs, Washington is trying to agree a new United Nations resolution giving the world body a broader mandate in Iraq in an effort to coax reluctant countries to provide troops and funds.
At least 85 US soldiers have been killed in action in Iraq since Washington declared major combat over on May 1st.
Security Council members France and Russia say they are unhappy with the draft US resolution.
The two countries, which opposed the war in Iraq, want a faster transfer of power to Iraqis as a condition for their support.
The US says the transfer cannot be rushed.