Mubarak warns on Saddam execution
By Calvin Simon,WNS Egypt Correspondent
CAIRO - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has warned that hanging former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will lead to even more bloodshed in Iraq. A Baghdad court condemned Saddam Hussein to death on Sunday for the killing of 148 Shia Muslims after a 1982 assassination attempt against him. Mr Mubarak said hanging the former president would only exacerbate ethnic and sectarian divisions between Iraqis. They are the first public comments on the sentence by an Arab leader.
"Carrying out this verdict will explode violence like waterfalls in Iraq," Mr Mubarak is quoted as saying by Egyptian state-run newspapers. The verdict "will transform (Iraq) into pools of blood and lead to a deepening of the sectarian and ethnic conflicts," he said. A long-time critic of Saddam Hussein and ally of the US, Mr Mubarak and other Arab leaders are alarmed by the relentless violence in the country.
Many Arab leaders can see Iraq turning into a festering sore, radicalising youth across the region and creating more anti-American sentiment. Despite their view of Saddam Hussein as a dictator who brought disaster on his people, many have serious reservations about his trial, held under what they consider US occupation.
posted by wnsworld @ 3:24 PM
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