Iraq Sunnis remember Saddam

2007-12-19 21:39

Awja - Supporters laid flowers on Saddam Hussein's grave in central Iraq on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary according to the Muslim calendar of the ousted president's execution.

Dozens of Sunni Arabs, some from as far away as the southern port city of Basra, gathered at the graveside in Saddam's home village of Awja, near the city of Tikrit, to read verses from the Koran and pay their respects.

Saddam was hanged for crimes against humanity just minutes before the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha began on December 30 last year.

This year Sunni Muslims began celebrating Eid al-Adha on Wednesday. For Shiites the festival begins on Friday.

During the final minutes of his life, Saddam's executioners taunted him in scenes captured on a cellphone camera which triggered an uproar around the world and embarrassed Iraq's Shiite-led government.

Iraqi officials ordered that Saddam be buried in the dead of night without the lying in state traditionally accorded to presidents.

Saddam's Sunni-dominated regime drew much of its support from the so-called Sunni Triangle north and west of Baghdad. Most of the top officials of his regime were drawn from the Tikrit area.

- AFP