Saddam's troops await US-led forces

Hundreds of security forces and armed members of President Saddam Hussein’s Baath party deployed throughout Baghdad today, taking up positions in the city and on its southern approaches as the Bush ultimatum for the Iraqi leader to leave or face war drew closer.

Much of Baghdad, normally a vibrant city of five million people, began to resemble a ghost city as darkness fell, with almost every store shut. Residents continued to stream out of the city, heading to the countryside to escape the expected bombing.