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Iraq on alert for Saddam’s execution anniversary

AWJA: Saddam Hussein loyalists gathered at his graveside on Sunday for the first anniversary of his execution, with security tight in the regions of Iraq where he drew his most fervent support.

Dozens of Sunni Arab tribal leaders, clerics and students stood at Saddam’s burial site in his birthplace of Awja in central Iraq, and read verses from the Quran, an AFP reporter said. “We are holding a simple ceremony to remember the president who served and protected Iraq and its people and maintained their dignity,” Ali al-Nida, chief of the Baijat tribe to which Saddam belonged, told AFP.

Several posters of Saddam were pasted across the village while loudspeakers played verses from the Quran. Civilian volunteers guarded the hall which houses Saddam’s grave, while police and troops patrolled the small village. In the former dictator’s onetime powerbase Tikrit, security personnel were on alert to monitor any rallies for Saddam. afp

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