A soldier briefly draped the statue's face with an American flag.

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There have been scenes of jubilation in Baghdad as US tanks rolled into the very heart of the Iraqi capital, confirming that the government of Saddam Hussein has been ousted from power.

In the main square in Baghdad, a group of Iraqi men attempted to pull down a massive statue of Saddam Hussein in an unprecedented show of contempt for the Iraqi leader.

The metal plaque at the base of the statue was torn off and the statue's marble plinth attacked with a sledgehammer.

The men scaled the statue to secure a noose around its neck but were unable to pull it down.

Then US troops joined in, and used an armoured vehicle to gradually pull down the statue.

Flag controversy

The extraordinary scenes were watched by millions across the world live on television.

The square is opposite the Palestine Hotel, used as a base by the world's media during the war in Iraq.

A little before the statue came down, a US soldier climbed up and draped the face with a US flag.

The crowd did not welcome the move, seeing it as a step too far towards American triumphalism, and the flag was quickly removed.

A few minutes later, it was replaced by the old Iraqi flag, to roars of approval.

Contempt

As the statue fell to the ground at last, the crowd surged forward and jumped on it.

Chanting and jeering, they danced on the fallen effigy, kicking it and hitting it with their shoes in a symbolic gesture of contempt as it was torn to pieces.

They then severed the head, tied chains around it, and dragged it through the streets.

As news of the events in the square spread, more and more Iraqis gathered to watch, with women and children joining the crowds of men.

There were similar scenes across the capital, as the many hundreds of statues and pictures of Saddam Hussein that came to symbolise his regime were attacked and torn down.

The military campaign will continue, although the US Army has delivered its most upbeat assessment yet of the gains it is making in Iraq.

"Much of Iraq is free from years of repression," said Brigadier-General Vincent Brooks, the US Central Command spokesman in Qatar.

"With every day that passes, we are breaking the grip of the regime."

Mystery shrouds Mr Mainassara's death.

However, his death has been described as a "tragic accident" by the prime minister of the west African state.

But diplomats from Niger, based in the neighbouring country of Burkina Faso, said Mr. Mainassara was ambushed and shot bymutinyingtroops as he tried to flee the country.

The diplomats said they had been told by colleagues in Niger that the uprising began shortly after sunrise when soldiers swarmed on to the streets of the capital, Niamey.

Troops with tanks are said to have blocked access to the presidential palace and other key locations.

In a radio broadcast Niger's Prime Minister, Ibraim Assane Mayaki , announced the country's parliament had been dissolved and that all political activity had been suspended.

A government of national unity would be formed in a few days, Mr. Mayaki added.

Uprisings

It is still unclear whether forces loyal to the Mr. Mayaki, were involved in the president's death.

There has been no explanation for Mr. Mainassara's assassination but it follows opposition calls for him to resign after theannulmentof regional elections held earlier this week.

Mr. Mainassara, a former army colonel, seized power in January 1996, ousting the country's first democratically elected president, Mahamane Ousmane.

Mr.Mainassara said he had staged the coup because Mr. Ousmane had failed to address Niger's economic and political problems.

Last year his government quashed several army uprisings and mutinies.

The United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, has reacted "with dismay" to the killing and called on Niger's leaders to work for "an early return to peace, stability and constitutional order".

effigy:A likeness or image, especially of a person (被憎恨或蔑视的人的)雕像、画像、模拟像

mutiny:open rebellion against constituted authority(叛乱)

annulment：an act of making or declaring void(废除，取消))