About two dozen anti-war protesters wearing pro-peace T-shirts and signs were asked to leave Crossgates Mall late Saturday afternoon.

Mall security would not answer questions about the incident, issuing only a terse ``no comment.''

Guilderland police were called to the scene to make sure the protesters left. Two people who wore slogans said they did not hand out leaflets or talk to other customers. The plan was to peacefully walk the mall corridors, they said.

``We made a definite decision not to do that because we didn't want to intrude on people's privacy,'' said Maureen Aumand, 56, who lives in Colonie and works as a school librarian in Watervliet.

She said she wore a sandwich board that read, ``Peace on Earth for once.'' She had planned to finish her own Christmas shopping, but was at the mall less than an hour before guards asked her to leave.

Joe Seeman, a 42-year-old computer programmer, had removed his ``Don't Invade Iraq'' T-shirt at security's request, but said the officers still asked him to leave. A Guilderland police officer, they said, followed them to Aumand's car and stayed by the vehicle until they pulled away.

-- Anne Miller