Saddam statue the focus of Iraq anger

A crowd of Iraqi civilians today vented their anger at decades of oppression in a symbolic attack on a giant statue of Saddam Hussein.

Just hours after US Marines swept into the eastern area of central Baghdad, hundreds of civilians gathered below the statue of Saddam towering more than 40ft high in the central Shahid Square.

The civilians – mostly young men – found a rope and tied it into a noose, before climbing up on a ladder and threading it round the statue’s neck.

In scenes reminiscent of the fall of the Berlin Wall, brought down by citizens of another oppressed city, the crowd took a sledge hammer to the column that supported Saddam’s statue.

One of the first to strike the plinth in the city’s central square, a large man wearing a grey vest, swung the hammer with as much force as he could, drawing cheers and applause from the crowd.

While the hammer was passed round from man to man, chanting bystanders clapped in time to the blows, and chunks of stone broke away.

Others in the crowd threw rocks at the statue as they continued their efforts to bring down this powerful image of Saddam’s dictatorship.

Some were also hitting the statue with their shoes – showing Saddam their scorn in one of the severest of insults in the Arab world.

According to Sky News, the bronze statue was inaugurated a year ago for Saddam’s 65th birthday.

Attaching a wire from the pedestal to a US tank, the Iraqi people enlisted the help of the American military in an attempt to pull the vast monument to the ground.

Civilian men crowded on top of the sand coloured vehicle and cheered as it slowly approached the statue.

The efforts continued as the marines raised the tank’s A frame up towards the figure of Saddam.

Rageh Omar, BBC correspondent in Baghdad, said: “The symbolism of this is quite simply the bringing down and crushing of a man who has brought tyranny to these people for a quarter of a century.

“It is quite simple but as powerful as that.”

He added: “It’s just extraordinary. I saw this statue being built in April last year. I have been reporting from Iraq from six to seven years and I just never imagined it.

“This is just a breathtaking moment.”

At one stage, an American flag was placed over the face of the statue of Saddam.

But Marines climbed up the statue and removed the Stars and Stripes and replaced it with an Iraqi flag around his neck.

A team of US soldiers tightened the noose that the Iraqi civilians had placed around the statue’s neck as the crowd cheered them on.

Later, the soldiers removed the Iraqi flag and climbed down to their vehicle, attempting to topple the statue with the power of the tank.