Ali Hassan al-Majid
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Ali Hassan al-Majid |
Ali Hassan al-Majid (
Arabic: علي حسن الماجد) (born
1941), was an
Iraqi official and commander. A first cousin of former President
Saddam Hussein, he was the Defense Minister of
Iraq. He has been called
Chemical Ali and the
Butcher of Kurdistan for his role in leading the
al-Anfal Campaign during which he ordered a toxic gas attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja that killed thousands of
Kurds (see
Halabja poison gas attack). He also oversaw the occupation of
Kuwait in
1990 and
1991 and acted as the country's military governor from August to November of 1990. He had a lead role in violently repressing the rebellions by Kurds and Shiites. The rebellions had been encouraged by US vocal support following the Gulf War.
Considered a
war criminal by human rights groups, he was placed by Saddam Hussein in charge of southern
Iraq to quell any civilian uprisings. [
1] "He is a senior adviser to Saddam. He is known as an enforcer for the regime," said a U.S. intelligence official, who asked not to be named. "He is used to put down uprisings and maintain order." [
2]. In this role in which he took the title 'Commander of the Southern Region' he violently repressed a 1999 revolt against Saddam's regime which, according to a recent
Human Rights Watch report, resulted in the death of hundreds of young Shiite men and their burial in mass graves around Basra. [
3]
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An investigative hearing is held for Ali Hassan al-Majid |
Al-Majid had been mistakenly thought to have died in April of 2003, following the US-led
2003 Invasion of Iraq. After a
coalition attack on his house in
Basra, he was reported to have been killed by laser-guided bombs. "Major Andrew Jackson, of the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment, said that the body was found along with that of his bodyguard and the head of Iraqi intelligence services in Basra." [
4]
It turned out that
U.K. military officials spoke too soon. In June 2003, al-Majid's status was changed from "...believed dead but unconfirmed" to "unknown" by U.S. defense officials, saying he might still be alive after all. He was rumored to have been joking and smiling in a Baghdad hospital on the day that it fell. This proved to be a justified doubt - U.S. officials confirmed on
August 21,
2003 that he had been captured alive. He was prominent (fifth) on the
U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis and is the
King of Spades in the deck of
most-wanted Iraqi playing cards.
Al-Majid will stand trial for his alleged role in many of the above mentioned actions before the
Iraq Special Tribunal (IST), set up by the Iraq Interim Government charged with
crimes against humanity and
genocide.
*
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, nicknamed "Comical Ali" by
British media in a play on al-Majid's nickname
*
'Chemical Ali' in U.S. custody, CNN, August 21, 2003
*
Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' may be alive, CNN, June 5, 2003
*
Chemical Ali found dead*
Body of Chemical Ali found, say British forces - Guardian Unlimited - April 7, 2003
