Thousands of Indonesians staged protests in several cities as the US-led war against Iraq entered its third week, with some burning President George W. Bush in effigy.

At least 5,000 university students demonstrated in the city of Makassar in South Sulawesi, police said. They arrived by car, motorbike, truck and bus to hear two hours of speeches in the central square before dispersing peacefully.

At Cirebon in West Java some 2,500 people rallied outside city hall and torched a Bush effigy, the state Antara news agency said.

Another 1,000 Islamic boarding school students took to the streets of Semarang city in Central Java.

In Jakarta some 200 people picketed the US embassy and later the United Nations. They called for the UN to bring Bush and allied leaders before a war crimes tribunal.

Some 200 students at Surabaya in East Java pelted the US consulate with rotten eggs and tomatoes after burning a US flag, ElShinta radio said.

Anti-war protests were also reported at Bandung in West Java and Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, has seen daily protests since the attacks began but almost all have been peaceful. The government has strongly criticised the war as an act of illegal aggression.