Saturday October 13, 2001

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany saw its biggest protest so far against the air strikes on Afghanistan. The Taliban estimate that more than 300 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in the raids. There has been no independent confirmation.

Protest organizers said some 30,000 people turned out in Berlin. ``The horror of World War Two makes all of us in Germany leery of war,'' said physician Hannes Wand, 54, at the rally held under blue skies and unusually warm autumn weather. ``I'm against this war because it's not justified and innocent people are being killed and forced to flee their homes.''

Police said an estimated 5,000 people protested in the Swiss capital Berne, and about 4,000 in the southwest German city of Stuttgart. Smaller protests were held in other parts of the non-Islamic world, including Australia.

In Berlin, there were minor scuffles with police as protesters marched through the central government quarter and past the Brandenburg Gate, foreign ministry and city hall. Banners read: ``War is genocide,'' ``War is not the solution'' and ``Stop Bush's war.'' Singers performed anti-war songs from the backs of flat-bed trucks.