Members of the non-government group "Macedonian People's Movement" left Skopje, capital of the former yugoslav republic, saying they would reach the Iraqi capital in June.

One of their leader,Zarko Jordanovski, said their first stop would be the Greek port Salonika. From there they would march to Istanbul, then on to Beirut before reaching Baghdad.

He said the activists expected to reach the Iraqi capital in 57 days, "before US President George Bush."

"We are travelling with no money and no visas... If someone arrests us, that country can be described as an enemy of peace," Jordanovski said.

The group previously appealed for peace in Macedonia itself during the conflict between ethnic Albanian rebels and Macedonian security forces in 2001, when they marched some 200 kilometres (120 miles) in a week throughout the country.

More than 80 percent of Macedonia's 2.2 million population oppose the war in Iraq, despite the pro-US stance of the government.

SPACE.WIRE