Iraqi authorities file new charges against Saddam

An Iraq tribunal today announced new criminal charges against Saddam Hussein and six others in 1980s crackdown against the Kurds, including the gassing of thousands of civilians in the village of Halabja.

Investigative judge Raid Juhi said the charges against Saddam and the others had been filed with another judge, who will review the evidence and order a trial date. The move is tantamount to an indictment under the Iraqi legal system.

The Baghdad case involves Saddam’s role in Operation Anfal, a three-phase move against Kurds in northern Iraq in the late 1980s. Anfal included the March 16 gas attack against Halabja in which 5,000 people, including women and children died.

Human rights groups consider the Halabja attack one of the gravest atrocities allegedly committed by Saddam’s regime.