Saddam to face second trial

A new legal chapter opens today for Saddam Hussein when the ousted Iraqi leader goes on trial for a second time, charged with genocide and war crimes from his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds nearly two decades ago.

The Baghdad case against Saddam and six co-defendants is tied to the deaths of tens of thousands of people during the Iraqi army’s “Operation Anfal” – Arabic for “spoils of war” – and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.