Physicians said the troubles started when soldiers barged into a woman's wing at Yarmouk hospital, opened curtains and conducted searches as patients lay in their beds on Monday.

A 27-year-old internal medicine specialist said a soldier began intimidating and abusing him.

"Before he left he said, 'Why are you looking in disapproval?' Then he came and punched me lightly on my arm before sticking his rifle into my stomach and loading it," the doctor, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, told Reuters.

"I stayed quiet but relatives of the patients told him to calm down before pulling him out of the room. Just then, four more soldiers came in and pointed a rifle at my head. At that point I became scared and begged them to leave me alone."

Ministry of Defense officials were not available for comment on the incident despite repeated requests.

GOVERNMENT PROMISES

Iraq's mayhem has spread even to hospitals, which are overwhelmed by victims of suicide bombings and shootings whose blood is mopped up off the floor after every attack.

The new Shi'ite-led government has promised Iraqis that security forces will be built up to protect them from guerrillas, who have killed thousands of people with suicide and car bombings.

Iraqis had hoped that January elections would deliver a new era of democracy, free of the abuses committed by Saddam Hussein's security forces. But some say the country's new security forces are too aggressive, randomly rounding up suspects and abusing them during detentions. The government says security forces are under strict orders to respect human rights.

About 30 doctors staged the strike, leaving around 100 bewildered patients behind, including a young boy of about 10.

Suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg, Muhammad Hashim lay quietly in the back of an ambulance which rushed him to Yarmouk from a town 30 kilometers southeast of Baghdad. But the strike forced his angry father to take him to another hospital.

Yarmouk, a run-down, sparsely equipped building, has treated many of Baghdad's worst cases. Overcrowded with patients and staff, it's emergency room hosts a frenzy of activity every day.

Nevertheless, doctors said they would press on with a strike to draw attention to army and security forces, whose wounded comrades are often treated at Yarmouk and other hospitals.

"We know the citizens may be a little upset but we have our rights too and we can't operate and provide a service to people if we feel under threat," said Assad Hindi, standing outside the hospital with other physicians.

Relatives of some patients grew frustrated.

Khalid al-Girtani said he was angry because his 57-year-old father Mahmoud had been ignored all day.

"My father has a stroke and no doctor is here to see him, just look at him! This is ridiculous," he said as his father lay in bed with breathing tubes in his nostrils.

Doctors have staged similar strikes before and some patients sympathized with them, despite their medical needs.

"I'm ill and I haven't seen the doctor all day. All I need is a signature from him so I can get an X-ray that I need to see what's wrong with my neck. I think they have every right to strike though, our doctors shouldn't be abused," said Salman Thahir, a frail old man sitting on his bed.