Bodies in Saddam's fishing hole

2005-11-06 14:43

Tharthar - Lake Tharthar, an oasis amid the barren wastes of central Iraq, was once Saddam Hussein's favourite fishing hole, and other anglers were kept well away.

But the fishermen who have drifted back to its shores after being kept out during the deposed dictator's reign are more likely to find bloated human bodies in the water than their supper.

And they could be risking their lives as well. The area around the lake has become a redoubt of insurgents since Saddam was ousted two years ago, and US-led forces have failed to dislodge them.

Located roughly midway between Baghdad and Saddam's hometown of Tikrit, Lake Tharthar is more than a once-popular tourist resort.

It is a strategic crossroads, where insurgents have imposed their own law.

Pipelines that run through here connecting the Baiji oil refinery to the north and Baghdad's Dura power station are regularly sabotaged.

The spot, which straddles the insurgent stronghold provinces of Al-Anbar and Salaheddin, is also crossed by back roads that allow travelers who want to remain undetected to avoid using the main north-south highway.

Its leafy terrain is also ideal for laying ambushes, and there is no shortage of them.

Just a few weeks ago, three engineers from Iraq's electricity company sent out to repair a high-tension line disappeared. There has been no word on their fate.

And three soldiers who went missing in the same area were found Thursday in the nearby village of Ishaki, their hands and feet bound, a bullet to the head.

Mohammed al-Nissani is one of the fishermen who now works the lake.

He recounts how he often finds bodies floating in the lake, "mostly civilians with their feet and hands bound."

"One day I saw a car stop and masked men get out. They carried a body that they dumped into the water."

Nissani said he just wanted to put the whole thing out of his mind, and stayed well away from the lake for several days.

Another man, who did not give his name, said he gave up fishing altogether after he found a surprise catch in his net -- a black plastic bag containing the bloated body of a soldier.

Not surprisingly, images of fish feasting on human remains have helped to dry up trade even more than the fishermen who give up in disgust, or for fear of being captured by insurgents.

Fishmonger Chiban al-Marsumi, who laments that his business has "declined drastically," said one local notable has even issued a fatwa banning the consumption of fish.

And Marsumi said there is another cause for fear.

"Fishermen don't want to go out on the lake for fear of being taken for rebels," who often dress as fishermen, "and bombarded by American airplanes."

Ironically, one bright spot is that the "Ali Babas" -- highwaymen who used to infest the region because of the many hiding places it affords -- have either fled or been killed.

The local populace is made up of Sunni tribesmen, who are mostly not hostile to the insurgents that have now made the area their private domain.

Even so, the extra-judicial executions of Iraqis accused of "collaboration" with US-led forces are beginning to leave a sour taste.

Jawdat Dulaimi, a member of the powerful Dulaimi tribe, says "they should know that the shedding of innocent blood is prohibited."

"The only way to control this region is to declare it a military zone," says another local resident, taxi driver Hussein al-Majmai. "That's what Saddam did."

- AFP