Iraqi President Will Not Sign Death Warrant for Saddam

Iraq's new rulers split yesterday over whether to execute Saddam Hussein if he is convicted of war crimes, with President Jalal Talabani facing calls to resign if he refuses to sign a death warrant.

The Kurdish rebel-turned president said he opposed capital punishment on principle.

"Personally, no, I won't sign," he told the BBC. But he hinted he may abstain and pass the decision to the two vice-presidents, Adel Abdul Mahdi, a Shia, and Ghazi Yawar, a Sunni Arab, who with him comprise the presidential council. "My two partners in the presidency, the government, the house, all of them are for sentencing Saddam Hussein to death before the court will decide. So, I think I will be alone in this field."

Mr Talabani's stance prompted a sharp rebuke from the Kurdish bloc's main coalition ally, a cleric-backed Shia list.

A parliamentary deputy and spokesman, Ali al-Dabagh, said the United Iraqi Alliance unanimously favoured executing Saddam if so ordered by the special tribunal which is expected to start the trial next year. "If the court says he's a criminal, we will follow it," Mr al-Dabagh said. "[Talabani] is the president, and he should follow the law. If he doesn't want to sign it, he should resign the presidency."

Meanwhile, a hostage crisis evaporated when security forces entered Madaen, a town south of Baghdad, and found no evidence that Arab Sunni gunmen had kidnapped scores of Shias and forced others to flee. Shia politicians were accused of gross exaggerations for having made claims of "sectarian cleansing".