A group of US mothers started Saturday a 24-hour vigil outside the White House to call for an end to the Iraq war and voice their opposition to a military attack on Iraq.

Women for Peace, consisting of mothers and their families, met at 3:00 PM (1900 GMT) prepared to spend the night outside the White House before dispersing at the same time Sunday, Mother's Day.

"I don't want any more moms to grieve for a child lost in this unjust unnecessary war in Iraq," said Cindy Sheehan, a prominent anti-war mother who lost her 24-year-old son in the war.

Other Mother's Day events include a concert, workshops on legislative strategies, writing letters to First Lady Laura Bush, and a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to deliver roses to mothers and wives of injured soldiers, organizers said.

(Xinhua News Agency May 14, 2006)