Malaysia today urged the United States to withdraw its troops from Iraq as the war there entered its fifth year, saying there would be no peace unless Iraqis solve their troubles by themselves.

"As long as there is foreign occupation, there'll be no peace in Iraq," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told lawmakers in parliament in conjunction with the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq.

"Hence, the United States must withdraw its troops from Iraq. Iraq's domestic problems must be resolved by Iraqis themselves," he was quoted as saying by the state Bernama news agency.

Malaysia chairs the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference and was one of the Muslim world's staunchest opponents of the US-led invasion in 2003.

As long as foreign troops remain in Iraq, there will be unhappiness among Iraqis, which will spur more violence and jeopardise efforts to restore peace in the oil-rich nation, Syed Hamid warned.

The minister also urged Iraqis to unite and end the sectarian violence in their country.

"What's important now is that Iraqis must think as Iraqis and not along ethnic lines," he said.

The United Nations said in January that at least 34,452 Iraqis died across the country and another 36,685 were wounded in 2006.