Anti-war protests mark fifth anniversary of Iraq war in San Francisco

Anti-war activists stand in silence to mark five years of the war in Iraq during rush hour at Union Station  in Washington March 18, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Left-wing activist Daniel Ellsberg told the crowd, "The symbolism of people lying in death appears to symbolize the life and death seriousness as we enter the sixth year of this crime against the American people." He soon sat down in the street and was himself arrested.

No injuries were reported in the protests, which began around 8a.m.

Across the bay in Berkeley, about 100 demonstrators gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park at noon to hear peace activist Cindy Sheehan speak. About 80 people marched afterward to the Marine Corps recruiting station on Shattuck Square, where demonstrators had gathered earlier, said the report.

After a short rally at the recruiting station -- which has been the focus of a weeks-long protest mounted by the anti-war group Code Pink, a group of protesters marched to the campus of the University of California in Berkeley, according to the report.

Organizers said they have planned a larger-scale march from Civic Center to the Mission District, beginning from 5 p.m.