Return of Saddam-era archive to Iraq opens debate, old wounds

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This handout picture provided by the Iraq Memory Foundation on September 10, 2020, shows documents that were found in one of the Baath Party’s headquarters in the Iraqi capital Baghdad at an unknown date, piled up after being collected by the foundation. (AFP)
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Updated 12 September 2020
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Return of Saddam-era archive to Iraq opens debate, old wounds

  • As sectarian violence ramped up in Baghdad after the US-led invasion, Makiya agreed with occupation force authorities to transfer the massive archive to the US, a move that has remained controversial

BAGHDAD:  A trove of Saddam-era files secretly returned to Iraq has pried open the country’s painful past, prompting hopes some may learn the fate of long-lost relatives along with fears of new bloodshed.

The 5 million pages of internal Baath Party documents were found in 2003, just months after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam, in the party’s partly flooded headquarters in tumultuous Baghdad.
Two men were called in by confused American troops to decipher the Arabic files. One was Kanan Makiya, a long-time opposition archivist, the other was Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, then a writer and activist, and now Iraq’s prime minister.
“With flashlights, because the electricity was out, we entered the waterlogged basement,” Makiya told AFP by phone from the US. “Mustafa and I were reading through these documents and realized we had stumbled upon something huge.”
There were Baath membership files and letters between the party and ministries on administrative affairs, but also reports from regular Iraqis who were accusing their neighbors of criticizing Saddam.
Other papers raised suspicions that relatives of Iraqi soldiers taken prisoner during the 1980-1988 war with Iran were potential traitors.
As sectarian violence ramped up in Baghdad after the US-led invasion, Makiya agreed with occupation force authorities to transfer the massive archive to the US, a move that has remained controversial.
The documents were digitised and stored at the Hoover Institution, a conservative-leaning think tank at Stanford University, with access restricted to researchers on-site.
But on Aug. 31, the full 48 tons of documents were quietly flown back to Baghdad and immediately tucked away in an undisclosed location, a top Iraqi official told AFP.
Neither government announced the transfer, and Baghdad is not planning to open the archive to the public, the official said.
This could disappoint the thousands of families who may have a personal stake in the archive’s contents.
“Saddam destroyed Iraq’s people — you can’t just keep quiet on something like that,” said Ayyoub Al-Zaidy, 31, whose father Sabar went missing after being drafted for Iraq’s 1991 invasion of Kuwait.
The family was never given notice of his death or capture and hopes the Baath archive could hold a clue.
“Maybe these documents are the beginning of a thread that we can follow to know if he’s still alive,” said Ayyoub’s 51-year-old mother Hasina.
She spent the 1990s pleading with the Baath-dominated regime for information on her husband’s whereabouts, and holds little hope of more transparency now. “At this rate, I’ll be dead before they make them public.”

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5m pages of internal Baath Party documents were found in 2003, just months after Saddam was toppled, and were transferred to the US, a move that has remained controversial.

Some argue the archive could help Iraq prevent its blood-stained history from repeating itself.
“Many kids nowadays say ‘Saddam was good,’” Murtadha Faisal, an Iraqi filmmaker, told AFP.
Faisal was 12 days old when his father was arrested in the holy city of Najaf during a 1991 uprising. He has not been heard from since.
He wants the archives opened to end any rosy nostalgia or revisionism about Baath rule, which some have praised compared to today’s instability under a fragmented political class.
“People should realize how not to create another dictator,” he said. “It’s already happening — we have a lot of small dictators today.”
Divisions over the Baath’s legacy still run deep, and some of its defenders argue the archives would serve to exonerate Saddam’s rule.
“Making the archives public would prove the Baath party was patriotic,” insisted a former low-ranking party member in comments to AFP.
Those fault lines are precisely what makes the archive’s return a “reckless” move, said Abbas Kadhim, the Iraq Initiative Director at the Atlantic Council.
“Iraq is not ready. It has not started a process of reconciliation that would allow this archive to play a role,” said Kadhim, who pored over the documents to write several academic books on Iraqi history and society.
What he found even implicated current officials, he said.
“Baathists documented everything, from a joke to an execution. Politicians, tribal leaders, people in the street will begin to use it against one another,” he added.
Others say the files could be redacted to make them less inflammatory, but still accessible to local academics.
“The least we can do is have them available to Iraqi researchers the same way they were to American ones,” said Marsin Alshamary, an incoming fellow at the US-based Brookings Institute who also used the archive for her PhD.
The US remains in possession of several archives seized after the 2003 invasion, including “even more dangerous government files,” a second Iraqi official told AFP.
One day, Makiya hopes, all the blood-stained events retold in these documents will be part of Iraq’s distant past.
“We can’t remember the glories of ‘the land between the two rivers’ and the Abbasid empire, and forget the 35 years of actual horror that modern Iraq lived through,” he told AFP.
“That is as much a part of what it means to be an Iraqi today as those romantic things.”


Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

Updated 12 sec ago
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Gaza civil defense says 91 killed in Israeli strikes Monday

GAZA CITY: A Gaza civil defense official said that 91 people were killed in strikes and attacks throughout Monday as Israel steps up an offensive in the Palestinian territory.
The deaths had been recorded since the early hours of Monday, according to Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense agency of the Hamas-run territory. The department had earlier given a toll of 52 dead.


Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

Updated 4 min 18 sec ago
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Yemen’s Houthis threaten Israeli port

SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis said Monday that they would target Haifa port in Israel as part of a “naval blockade” in response to Israeli escalation in the Gaza war.
The Houthis would “begin working to enforce a naval blockade of the port of Haifa,” said military spokesman Yehya Saree.
“All companies with ships present in or heading to this port are hereby notified that, as of the time of this announcement, the aforementioned port has been included in the target bank,” the Houthi spokesman added.
The move was “in response to the Israeli enemy’s escalation of its brutal aggression against our people and in Gaza,” he said, adding their attacks on Israel would “cease once the aggression on Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will “take control” of the whole of Gaza, as rescuers reported dozens killed in a newly intensified offensive.


One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh.
Updated 19 May 2025
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One SDF fighter killed in attack by Daesh in eastern Syria

  • SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government
  • Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east

CAIRO: The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a militia group led by Kurdish fighters, said on Monday that one of its fighters was killed and another injured in an attack by Daesh in Syria’s eastern Deir el-Zor region.
The SDF was the main fighting force allied to the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated Daesh in 2019 after the group declared a caliphate across swathes of Syria and Iraq.
The SDF reached an agreement in March to integrate with the Syrian government, now led by former militants who toppled President Bashar Assad last year.
Syria’s new authorities have clashed with Daesh fighters, particularly in the east. Last month, Daesh killed five SDF fighters in one of the deadliest recent attacks against the group.


Egypt rejects all Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, El-Sisi tells Aoun

Updated 40 min 2 sec ago
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Egypt rejects all Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, El-Sisi tells Aoun

  • During a meeting in Cairo, Egyptian president pledges support for stability in Lebanon and reconstruction of his counterpart’s country
  • Lebanese president says Lebanon needs ‘stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice’ and his nation cannot be excluded from this just peace

BEIRUT: Egypt rejects repeated Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and its occupation of parts of the country, and supports Lebanon’s reconstruction efforts, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said on Monday as he received a visit in Cairo from his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun.

The two leaders discussed ways in which bilateral relations might be strengthened and Egypt can support stability in Lebanon, as well as broader challenges to regional peace.

During a joint press conference following their talks, El-Sisi said that his country remains firm in its support of Lebanon’s internal stability and efforts to safeguard its full sovereignty.

He said Egypt continues to call on Israeli authorities to withdraw their forces immediately and unconditionally from Lebanese territory, respect the 1949 Armistice Agreements with Arab states, and fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Resolution 1701 was adopted in 2006 with the aim of resolving the conflict that year between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

El-Sisi said his country will not interfere in internal Lebanese affairs but is keen to have a strong relationship with the nation. The president added that he wants Egypt to support reconstruction efforts in Lebanon, called on the wider international community also to assume its responsibilities in this process, and affirmed the need to enhance the nation’s internal stability and preserve its full sovereignty.

“On the political level, there should be a voice that supports Lebanon and its president, namely when it comes to calling for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the five occupied hills, and addressing the remaining issues calmly and regularly in accordance with the Lebanese president’s wish in order to preserve the country’s security and stability,” El-Sisi said.

Turning to the situation in Palestine, he stressed the need to end Israeli hostilities in Gaza immediately. He called for the mobilization of the international community to implement a Gaza reconstruction plan without any displacement of the population, and to enable Palestinian authorities to carry out their role in fully managing the territory.

Aoun praised the depth of the Lebanese-Egyptian relationship, saying it is built on “freedom and openness.” He affirmed the commitment of his nation to Resolution 1701, which he said preserves his country’s sovereignty and territorial unity, and emphasizes the importance of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s role in the south of the country.

He called for a halt to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and said: “We affirm the necessity to put an end to Israeli hostilities, and adhere to the provisions of the 1949 Armistice Agreement in a way that ensures security and stability in southern Lebanon and the whole region.”

The Lebanese president urged the international community to “fulfill its responsibilities, particularly in compelling Israel to adhere to the ceasefire agreement, reached under US and French sponsorship, in order to maintain security and stability in Lebanon and the region, withdraw from all Lebanese territories up to our internationally recognized and demarcated borders, and facilitate the return of Lebanese prisoners.”

Aoun also emphasized his nation’s “commitment to establishing the best possible relations” with neighboring Syria, and highlighted the importance of “coordination and cooperation between the two countries to address shared challenges, particularly concerning the issue of Syrian refugees.”

He underscored “the necessity of ensuring the safe and dignified return of the refugees to their homeland,” and urged the governments of Syria and Lebanon “to act swiftly through joint committees that have been agreed upon to achieve this, thereby safeguarding the interests of both nations and their peoples.”

He affirmed Lebanon’s support for all efforts to preserve Syrian unity and sovereignty and address the aspirations of its people. He welcomed recent decisions to lift international sanctions against the country, following the fall of the Assad regime, and expressed hopes that this will contribute to its recovery and wider regional stability.

Returning to the situation in his own country, Aoun said Lebanon needs “stability and lasting peace in our region, built on justice by granting all rights to their rightful owners. This is what the Arab countries approved in the Beirut Peace Initiative in 2002 and this is what we look forward to embodying as soon as possible.”

This peace would include “the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state,” he added, and a battle against “extremism and terrorism, poverty and hunger, ideas of elimination and desires of exclusion,” to “achieve development and prosperity for our people.

“I affirm that Lebanon cannot be outside such an equation. It is not in the interest of any Lebanese person, nor any country or people in our region, to exclude itself from the path of a comprehensive and just peace.”

Aoun called for “the establishment of a system for common Arab interests, one of the first pillars of which would be a body regulating the common interests of our countries and peoples, as a prelude to establishing a common regional market that would begin between two countries and gradually expand across sectors and geographies.”

Aoun’s office said that during his talks with El-Sisi the two leaders agreed to convene a joint high-level committee meeting, chaired by the countries’ prime ministers in Cairo on a date to be announced, to examine Lebanon’s needs and establish a working mechanism to help achieve them.

El-Sisi said he wishes to see Egyptian companies operating in Lebanon and providing assistance, as the Lebanese market represents a promising destination for trade and investment.

The Egyptian minister of electricity and renewable energy, Mahmoud Esmat, highlighted the cooperation between the two countries in the electricity sector, and El-Sisi said Lebanon “must be assisted in repairing its (power) grid and in everything that can help secure electricity.” This will be discussed further during the upcoming high-level ministerial committee meeting, he added.

Aoun’s visit to Egypt formed part of his strategic Arab outreach following his election as president in January. The trip to Cairo followed visits to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states in what Lebanese presidential sources described as a concerted effort to “forge a new chapter in Lebanon-Arab world relations.”


Tripoli-based govt ‘pursuing permanent truce after clashes’

Updated 19 May 2025
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Tripoli-based govt ‘pursuing permanent truce after clashes’

  • UN mission welcomes creation of ceasefire committee, calls for protection of all civilians

TRIPOLI: Libya’s UN-recognized government said on Monday it was pressing efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire after days of deadly clashes in the capital and protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation.

The fighting last week pitted an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based government against factions it has sought to dismantle, resulting in at least eight dead, according to the UN.

The Libyan Defense Ministry said in a statement that “the efforts toward a ceasefire remain ongoing” and that it was “directly” overseeing the process to ensure stability.

The fighting had largely ended by late on Thursday, according to an Interior Ministry official and the UN mission in Libya, but without any formal ceasefire agreement.

The UN mission, UNSMIL, welcomed on Sunday the creation of a “truce committee building on the fragile peace reached last week” after the violence that saw heavy artillery used in central Tripoli.

UNSMIL said the committee “is focused on facilitating a permanent ceasefire with emphasis on the protection of all civilians, and to agree on security arrangements for Tripoli.”

Tripoli saw a return to relative calm late last week as flights resumed, shops reopened, and people returned to work, but the situation remained volatile as calls for Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah’s resignation grew.

The clashes were sparked by the killing of an armed faction leader by a group aligned with Dbeibah’s government — the 444 Brigade, which later fought a third group, the Radaa force that controls parts of eastern Tripoli and the city’s airport.

It came after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle Radaa and dissolve other Tripoli-based armed groups, but excluding the 444 Brigade.

The 444 Brigade said on Monday it had uncovered a mass grave with 10 bodies in Abu Salim, a district of Tripoli that before last week was controlled by the group of Abdelghani Al-Kikli, whose killing sparked the clashes.

Dbeibah had accused Al-Kikli’s group, the Support and Stability Apparatus, of multiple abuses, including “cold-blooded” executions and forced disappearance of critics.

In an address on Saturday after securing the public support of several dignitaries, Dbeibah called on armed groups in Tripoli to align themselves with “state institutions.”

“Our goal is a Libya free of militias and corruption,” he said.