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COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION CENTRE
FACTS ABOUT IRAQ Saddam: Persecution of Iraqi
Citizens and Fellow Muslims |
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Saddam Hussein is
a brutal, secular tyrant. Since seizing absolute power in 1979 he has shown no
respect for human life, in particular towards his fellow Iraqis and Muslim neighbours.
The Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988) resulted in an estimated 1 million
Muslim casualties. Iranian casualties were estimated as between 450,000-730,000.
Iraqi casualties were estimated as between 150,000-340,000.
During the 1988 Anfal campaign in Iraqi
Kurdistan, Iraqi troops were responsible for the execution of 100,000
Muslim Kurds
On March 16 1988, Iraqi troops killed between 4,000-7,000
Muslim Kurds in a single day in a chemical weapon attack on the town of Halabjah in Northern Iraq.
The 1990 Iraq invasion of Kuwait led to the death of 1,000
Kuwaiti Muslim nationals
Over 600 POWs have remained unaccounted for since 1991,
including nationals of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India, Syria, Lebanon, Iran,
Egypt, Bahrain, and Oman. One US pilot is among them (Bush speech to UNGA,
12/9/02)
Between 1 and 2 million Muslim Iraqis living outside Iraq
are believed to have a well-founded fear of persecution if they returned. 41,238
Iraqis applied for asylum in the West in 2001
In 2001, there were about 700,000 internally displaced
Muslim in Iraq: 600,000 in the northern governorates
of Dohuk, Erbil, and Suleymaniyah and 100,000 (mostly Marsh Arabs) in
south-eastern Iraq.
U.S. government analysts have estimated that more than 200,000
of the 250,000 former Muslim inhabitants of the marshlands of southern
Iraq have been driven from the area since 1991. Experts report that if the
marshes continue to be drained at the current rate, they will probably cease to
exist in another 50 years.
Thousands of Muslims have been arbitrarily arrested in Iraq in
recent years because of their suspected opposition political activities, or
because they are relatives of people sought by the authorities. Exact
information on the numbers of those held and their whereabouts is not released
by the Iraqi authorities.
Sources: US
Committee for Refugees Report 2002
Human Rights
Watch Country Report