The Iraqi people have had mixed reaction to the trial of their former President Saddam Hussein, who appeared in court on Thursday.

On Friday, hundreds of Iraqis staged a peaceful demonstration in Samarra, 110 km north of Baghdad, denouncing the trial as "ridiculous."

According to witnesses and media reports, the protesters marched through the streets of the Sunni Muslim bastion, holding portraits of their fallen leader.

"Saddam is the glory of the nation. We redeem you with our blood and soul," chanted the protesters.

"The trial is ridiculous, because those who judge the president and those who govern the country are named by the coalition forces," one demonstrator said, adding "They do not have the right to judge President Saddam Hussein, who is the one who has legitimacy in the country."

There were some other slogans, including, "We support Saddam" and "he continues to be our president."

On Thursday, while watching Saddam's appearance on TV, Iraqis also expressed their diverse views on the legal proceedings.

"I think Saddam deserves to be sentenced to death for the mass graves we have seen in Iraq," said Nawal Ahmed, a 30-year-old Kurdish woman from northern Iraq.

Although Saddam was charged with poison gas attacks on Kurds and the killings of numerous religious leaders, political figures and dissidents during his reign, some Iraqis still thought the former ruler had some merits and demanded a fair trial of him.

"At least Saddam provided us with security. We have seen nothing good from the Americans," said Ali Hamza, a 47-year-old engineer.

Abdul Rahman Muhammed, 55, a secondary school teacher in Baghdad, said it was not the right time for such trial "because it will provoke part of the Iraqi people and I don't think we need this to happen."

"We want a fair trial where Saddam can speak and defend himself against the fabricated charges against him," said Muhsen Ubaid, a 39-year-old shop owner in western Baghdad.

VIOLENCE PERSISTS IN IRAQI CITIES AFTER SADDAM'S ARRAIGNMENT

Rockets hit central Baghdad on Friday morning, a day after Saddam appeared before an Iraqi tribunal set to try him for his 35years of rule.

Explosions rattled near a square where the American forces pulled down the statue of Saddam more than a year ago. One rocket slammed into the Sheraton Hotel, used by foreign journalists, causing minor damage to the building.

Another rocket missed target toward the north and exploded near the Baghdad Hotel nearby, used by Western security contractors, and a van blew up outside a mosque just opposite the Sheraton Hotel, sending plumes of smoke into the sky.

Meanwhile according to the US military, two US Marines were killed in separate incidents near the flashpoint Iraqi town of Fallujah.

"A Marine assigned to First Marine Expeditionary Force was killed in action today (Friday) in the al-Anbar province while conducting security and stability operations," the military said in a statement.

The second Marine died of wounds sustained in combat action on the previous day in the same province near Fallujah, 50 km west of Baghdad, it added.

IRAQI INSURGENTS RELEASE TWO TURKISH HOSTAGES

Iraqi insurgents holding two Turkish hostages announced Friday in a video footage showed by the Arab-language television Al-Jazeera that the hostages were being released.

The insurgents who identified themselves as the al-Mujahedeen Brigade (the holy warriors), said they would release the men without conditions after their Turkish company promised to stop working for the US forces in Iraq.

"To honor the Muslim Turkish people and upon the repentance of the two hostages, and their pledge not to do such a thing again ...we decided to release them in return for nothing," one of three masked gunmen appearing in the video said.

An official in the Turkish Embassy, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, "They have been released and they are on the way to their company in Iraq."

Earlier this week, three other Turkish hostages were freed by militants who had threatened to behead them.

INDIA'S DIPLOMAT LIKELY TO BE NAMED NEW UN ENVOY TO IRAQ

According to diplomatic sources in the United Nations Thursday, Salman Hider, India's former foreign secretary, is likely to accept the appointment as UN Secretary-General Koki Anna’s special representative to Iraq.

Hider, a former ambassador to China and Britain, is on a five-person list for the top UN envoy to Iraq, said a diplomat on condition of anonymity.

"For the (UN) Secretariat, it has been agreed to choose the candidates from developing Islamic countries," the source said. "Preferably, the new envoy should be a Muslim and can speak Arabic."

Last Friday before his trip to the Sudan, Anna said he would name his new envoy to Iraq "in one week," and the new envoy will be based in Baghdad.

In the aftermath of last August's bombing attack which killed Anna’s special representative in Iraq, Sergio de Mello, along with 21 of his colleagues, the UN chief has decided to pull all his international staff out of Baghdad.

Since the deadly bombing, the post of the top UN envoy had been left open.

Anna has repeatedly said the world body can play a role in Iraq, but it can play only after its role has been clearly defined and when "the situation permits." Given the fact that the security situation in Iraq remains disturbing, Anna has proposed a bureau to be set up outside the war-torn country.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2004)