Dozens of supporters of Saddam Hussein took to the streets of his hometown Tikrit yesterday, vowing loyalty to the former dictator as he went on trial in Baghdad charged with crimes against humanity.
Iraqi police and soldiers, backed by US troops, maintained tight security in the largely Sunni Muslim town, 175km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, which was home to Saddam's family and profited from his patronage during his decades in power.
Around 100 young men chanted "Long Live Saddam Hussein" and carried banners with slogans such as "Down with the occupation and the puppet government".
A few protesters fired shots in the air.
Iraqi police kept close watch as demonstrators waved flags and banners.
"We sacrifice our blood and soul for you, Saddam", one banner said, while others said "No to the trial".
"The trial is unfair," said student Dawud Farham (18). "They should put on trial those who are tearing apart Iraq and its people."
Saddam was born on April 28th, 1937, in Awja, a Sunni Arab village just outside Tikrit. Dozens of villagers rallied there too yesterday, bearing pictures of Saddam, chanting and shaking their fists in the air.
As a US military patrol sped by, a small boy shouted an obscenity in English.
Sunni Arabs, a 20 per cent minority in Iraq, have lost influence since the US-led invasion and the parliamentary election in January, which brought a Shia and Kurdish-led government to power.
A 55-year-old shopkeeper who gave his name only as Adel defended Saddam's actions in Dujail, where he took revenge for an assassination attempt by executing many of the villagers.
"When they tried to assassinate him, the law authorised him to execute those who took part in it," he said.
One of Saddam's defences is expected to be that as president at the time he had immunity from all criminal charges.
Hassan al-Juburi (24), a teacher, also criticised the proceedings. "The trial might be fair if the conditions were right, but now the conditions are not fair," he said.
In Anbar province, a vast area west of Baghdad where Sunni insurgents are strong, several mortar attacks were reported and a roadside bomb killed two Iraqi soldiers in Falluja.
In a Sunni area of Baghdad, two Iraqi police commandos were killed and three wounded in a clash with insurgents.
A British soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq late on Tuesday night, the British Ministry of Defence said.