The Associated Press reports that Gen. Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as “Chemical Ali,” was involved in the massacre of at least 34 Shiite men in the southern city of Basra in 1999:
Human Rights Watch obtained a handwritten list that named 120 young men who were executed from March to May 1999 for taking part in protests over the assassination of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, a senior Shiite cleric.
The remains of 34 men were found in a mass grave in May 2003, and family members have identified 29 of them.
Among the documents the group found is an apparent execution list, which names 120 men who were executed by the “order of the Commander of the Southern Sector,” a post held by al-Majid at the time.
Iraq's brutal repression of its civilian population was one of the justifications for removing Saddam's regime contained in the Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq:
Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolutions of the United Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population thereby threatening international peace and security in the region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait.
I can't wait until Chemical Ali and the rest of Saddam's thugs go on trial.
Comments