Few Signs of Anti-West Backlash As Arabs Grapple With Raids

THE Arab world grappled yesterday with the emotional and political after-effects of the US-led air offensive on Baghdad, but there were only a few signs of a much-feared anti-Western backlash, wire services reported. Schools in many Arab countries were closed, stores were shuttered and business slowed down to a trickle as government officials huddled in crisis committees to monitor developments.

Bands of youths took to the streets in the Shuafat Palestinian refugee camp near Jerusalem calling for an Islamic holy war in support of Iraq.