Anti-war activists take part in a protest to mark five years of the war in Iraq during rush hour at Union Station in Washington March 18, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) 

A number of demonstrations were staged and scheduled across the country on Wednesday, calling for the end of the war that has cost nearly 4,000 US troops' lives and over 400 billion dollars through December 2007.

Anti-war protestors block the entrance to the Internal Revenue Service and sought to focus attention on taxpayers' money that fund the war. They also disrupted the offices of lobbyists who represent military contractors and oil companies profiting from the war.

From New Jersey to North Dakota, college students planned walkouts and shut down military recruiting offices on campus.

Hundreds of protest events were also planned nationwide, including vigils and larger rallies in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2008)