TORONTO Several thousand protesters, some lashing out at U.S. "murderers" in Afghanistan, marched through Toronto's financial district on Tuesday banging drums and chanting slogans in a protest against poverty.

The marchers brought traffic to a standstill in the heart of Canada's largest city, overturning newspaper boxes and plastering buildings with posters about poverty, inequality and "money power." Subway service in the city's core was disrupted.

Police said 40 people were arrested in the mostly peaceful protest, with charges ranging from assaulting police, possession of a prohibited weapon and mischief, Reuters reported.

The total amount of damage from the protest is still unknown but the city's Police Department estimated their extra costs at more than C$200,000.

One group cheered as a lone protester climbed atop the entrance to the historic Royal York Hotel, often home to visiting dignitaries, and painted the word "murderers" on the U.S. stars and stripes flag.

"Stop the war on the poor," shouted one group, some of whom wore balaclavas, bicycle helmets or masks.

But the organizers, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, failed in their main objective of shutting down bay street, Toronto equivalent of New York's Wall Street financial district.

Workers entered buildings through the downtown maze of underground shopping malls, or showed business cards to security guards at the front entrances to gain access to high-rise office buildings.

"This city is falling apart," said one office worker as she scurried past throngs of police to reach her office.

"If anyone thinks we are here wasting our time, all you have to do is look at the weapons we have already seized -- pieces of pipe, rocks, and a whole assortment of implements that are clearly intended to attack our police officers," said Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino.

"We are here to make sure safety be maintained and will preserve it at all costs," he added.

The crowd, at times several hundred strong, at times several thousand, was largely peaceful, although some protesters threw rocks at buildings and riot police.

A handful of people were injured, at least one of them seriously, local television said.

"This is sending a huge sign to the government. This is giving a voice to people who don't have one," said Kelly Hayes of the Elementary Teachers Federation.

Police contained the protesters in the financial core as demonstration organizers, hollering on megaphones, tried to keep the crowd moving and away from conflicts with police, who formed riot lines with horses and shielded officers.

One downtown office worker voiced his disgust at the protesters in light of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. "Is this just me, or its this ill-conceived and ill-timed?" he said.

Bay street has been the site of several protests in recent years. In 1998, students held a 20-hour sit-in at a bank to protest against rising tuition costs and student debt levels.

In 1996, labor unions organized mass picketing that shut Toronto's transit system and disrupted business and government offices in a protest over deep budget cuts.

In a small parallel protest, young people in suits handed out business cards promising a "walk for capitalism" on Dec. 2, when Toronto is to be one of 86 cities hosting pro-business demonstrations.