Dujail

Dujail (33°51′N 44°14′E) is a small Shiite town in Iraq, north of Baghdad. It is situated 40 miles north of Iraq's capital, Baghdad, and has approximately 10,000 inhabitants.

Dujail is known for being the place where an unsuccessful assassination attempt was staged against then Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, on July 8, 1982. The town was a stronghold of the Shiite Daawa party, a group strongly opposed to Saddam Hussein and his war with Iran. Saddam Hussein was visiting the town for a meeting. While driving through the village centre, his motorcade was attacked by a member of the Daawa party. The president was unharmed in the three hour firefight which ensued.

Saddam Hussein allegedly ordered his police and military forces to carry out a reprisal attack against the town. His orders were obeyed. A total 143 of the town's inhabitants were killed in the attack or executed later, a number of these were boys 13 years of age [1].1,500 people were also incarcerated and tortured, while other residents, many of them women and children, were sent to desert camps. Saddam's regime destroyed the town and then rebuilt it shortly after. In addition to these punishments, 1,000 square kilometres (250,000 acres) of farmland was destroyed; replanting was only permitted 10 years later.

The Iraqi Special Tribunal prosecutor has informed the defence attorneys of eight accused, including Saddam Hussein, that the Al-Dujail trial for those reprisals begins on October 19, 2005.

References

• Ynetnews article titled Who knew about Dujail massacre?
• Guardian article titled Saddam Trial to Open with Village Massacre