NP - Residents Blare Horns, Dance and Empty Government Offices

[David Morris]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/09/international/worldspecial/09CND-BAGH.html

Residents swarmed out onto the streets today, suddenly sensing that the regime
of Saddam Hussein was crumbling, and celebrating the arrival of United States
forces. 

Throngs of men milled about, looting, blaring horns, dancing and tearing up
pictures of Saddam Hussein. Baath party offices were trashed. 

Occasional sniper fire continued, but Iraqi resistance largely faded away. The
American military hesitated to say the war was over, warning instead that more
fighting could break out, both inside and outside Baghdad.

But the streets here were full of activity, after days of fearsome warfare. 

The American military emptied jails overnight, releasing their prisoners. 

In the neighborhood called Saddam City, a densely populated Shiite area, crowds
of men shouted and waved their arms in jubilation. Some carried makeshift
flags. 

One middle aged man held up a huge portrait of Saddam Hussein, and in the
middle of the street beat the face of the Iraqi leader with his shoe, a
particular insult. "This man has killed two million of us,'' he yelled as
bystanders milled around approvingly.



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