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Saddam's home movies
24/04/2003 22:25 - (SA)
Washington - Home movies showing Saddam Hussein holding hands with his blonde wife Sajda and son Uday feeding pet lions were aired on Thursday by Cable News Network, which said the film was found by a freelancer in the palaces of the ousted leader.
The hand-holding was filmed on a walk through snow-covered mountains, possibly in the late 1980s, CNN said.
His wife of about 30 years, Sajida Khayrallah, was rarely seen in public. The two, who are cousins, were apparently engaged when they were children younger than seven. Saddam took at least one lover after his marriage, media reports have said.
In other astonishing footage, their son Uday, who was paralysed from the waist down in an assassination attempt in the mid-90s and who headed Iraq's feared secret police torture squads, is seen feeding two of his pet lions.
In the footage, the lions roam freely around him while he is rooted to the ground, leaning on his cane. A white-coated servant then appears with a tray of food, and Uday takes the pieces of meat and feeds them directly into the lions' mouths.
Several dogs also meander around the scene.
In the days after April 9, as the US military occupied Baghdad, several lions from Uday's home and the zoo were shot by soldiers when the animals escaped and posed a public threat. US soldiers now guard the zoo to guarantee the safety of the remaining lions and other animals. - Sapa-DPA
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