'Chemical Ali' admits he ordered Kurd villages cleared

Baghdad: Saddam Hussain's cousin told a court trying him for genocide on Sunday that he had ordered Kurdish villages cleared in the 1988 "Anfal" campaign but insisted he was right to do so and had nothing to apologise for.

Ali Hassan Al Majeed, known as "Chemical Ali", is on trial with five other former senior Baath party officials for their roles in the 1988 Anfal (Spoils of War) military campaign.

Earlier this month he told the court he ordered troops to execute those who ignored government orders to leave villages, and on Sunday he reiterated that he was the one responsible for giving orders to destroy villages and displace their people.

He argued, however, that it was a legitimate military campaign since Kurdish guerrillas in northern Kurdistan had sided with Iran during the last stage of the Iraq-Iran war.