Anti-war protests gathered pace across the globe following the start of the US-led war against Iraq, with hundreds of thousands marching to demand a quick end to air strikes on Baghdad.Some 150,000 demonstrators, many of them high school students, thronged central Athens in response to the launch of targeted strikes against Iraqi targets, according to police estimates, while organizers put the figure at least 200,000.

The protestors chanted "Bush -- killer" as they filed towards the US embassy, condemning President George W. Bush for attempting to disarm Iraq and topple President Saddam Hussein by force.

As Athens geared up for a second all-night vigil against military action in Iraq, protestors all over the world, led by students and schoolchildren, marched in anger at the way Washington and London have defied popular opposition to launch a second Gulf war.

Millions have marched to oppose the war in past weekends, dogging world leaders that have backed Bush's campaign, like Prime ministers Tony Blair of Britain, Jose Maria Aznar of Spain and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy.

Security has been stepped up at US embassies and consulates around the world -- which have become systematic targets for anti-war protestors.

A demonstration in Ankara turned ugly when a group of peace activists disobeyed police orders to disperse after laying a black wreath outside the US embassy. Demonstrators hurled eggs and stones at security forces, who in turn responded with truncheons.

In Egypt, eight people were injured in clashes as thousands of people defied a government ban and rallied on the streets and on university campuses to protest against the US-led war.

At least one Spanish peace protester was injured in clashes with police in central Madrid, where 5,000 people, most of them students, tried to march on the parliament to voice their disapproval of their government's support for the war.

In Barcelona, some 12,000 youthful protestors staged a blockade on the main highway leading to France, while a group of anti-war activists handed parliament a petition signed by some 1.2 million people opposed to their government's backing for the war.

Several thousand French students left their classrooms to march through central Paris, before heading to the central Place de la Concorde, beside the US embassy, where an AFP reporter estimated that at least 70,000 protestors had gathered by 1730 GMT.

At least 50,000 students in Berlin peacefully marched toward the US embassy, carrying placards reading, "Give peace a chance". Peace groups said some 250 protests would be staged in Germany -- where opposition to war in strong -- throughout the day.

Thousands more students streamed out of classrooms across Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain, with Swiss schoolchildren carrying the rainbow-striped flags, which have become a symbol for peace in Europe.

In Italy, where public opinion is strongly at odds with the official support for the US action, the main unions called a two-hour general strike starting at 3:00 pm (1400 GMT).

Ten of thousands of students abandoned their classrooms and streamed onto city streets and piazzas to protest at the military assault on Iraq, with rallies set to continue into the night.

A demonstration in the business capital Milan drew 15,000 pacifists according to police, while the UIL union claimed a turnout of ten times that figure.

In Rome, a torchlight procession was later expected to make its way to a peace rally at the Coliseum.

Several hundred youthful opponents of the US-led war descended on London's Parliament Square, spearheading protests up and down the country against a "day of shame."

"One, two, three, four, we don't want your bloody war! Five, six, seven, eight, stop the killing, stop the hate!" one group of children chanted, borrowing a slogan from Vietnam War days.

Britain's Stop The War Coalition called for a national walkout by workers and students, urged to rally in city centers at 1800 GMT.

Portuguese peace activists planned to shroud the walls of an emblematic castle that towers over central Lisbon with a white sheet to protest the launch of US-led war against Iraq.

A peace vigil was scheduled for 1800 GMT outside the US embassy.

In Russia, two hundred Communists and ultra-nationalists -- confronted by three times as many police -- marched to cries of "Yankee go home" and "No to war".

The day of anti-war protest kicked off with angry anti-US demonstrations in Pakistan, Indonesia and Taiwan and spirited marches in Australia, which has contributed some 2,000 troops to the US-led war coalition.

"US, please explain, why did you install Hussein?" chanted a crowd of some 20,000 protestors marching through Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city.

One woman was arrested at the city's US consulate for splashing red paint and scrawling "killing has started" on statues outside the building, police said.

A crowd of more than 12,000 people chanting "No War, No War" marched through central Sydney, where 300,000 protestors rallied against the looming war last month.

A major protest is planned for Saturday in New York City, following the success of a similar march one month ago that drew around 250,000 demonstrators.

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Anti-war protests sweep globe following launch of strikes in Iraq