BBC NEWS | Middle East | Saddam 'alive and in Iraq'
Saddam Hussein - still noticeable by his absence
Saddam Hussein and at least one of his sons are being tracked as they move around Iraq, an opposition leader has told the BBC.
Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress says his supporters have not yet caught up with the ousted dictator but reports of his movements arrive within "12 to 24 hours".
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In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Chalabi said his intelligence suggested Saddam Hussein was still in Iraq, and was on the move.
While supporters had not yet managed to catch up with the wanted former leader, Mr Chalabi said: "We are aware of his movements between 12 and 24 hours after he has been there."
"We received intelligence about his son Qusay yesterday," he said.
"The night before he was seen in Aadhamiya."
>>
Mr Chalabi said the apparent rise of Shia clerics as local leaders and political organisers was a "distorted view".
"No-one has control over towns... over streets. It is a euphoria of expression [where] piety becomes a political act because [the people] have been denied that."
It was a transitory movement with "no momentum", he said.
'Smoking a cigar with Saddam'
Any UN ambition to take a role in rebuilding Iraq would not be popular, Mr Chalabi said.
"The Iraqi people view the UN as a de facto ally of Saddam" because they had seen UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "smoking a cigar with Saddam", he said.
"The reality of the situation will imply that the UN cannot have a role."
Saddam Hussein - still noticeable by his absence
Saddam Hussein and at least one of his sons are being tracked as they move around Iraq, an opposition leader has told the BBC.
Ahmed Chalabi of the Iraqi National Congress says his supporters have not yet caught up with the ousted dictator but reports of his movements arrive within "12 to 24 hours".
>>
In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Chalabi said his intelligence suggested Saddam Hussein was still in Iraq, and was on the move.
While supporters had not yet managed to catch up with the wanted former leader, Mr Chalabi said: "We are aware of his movements between 12 and 24 hours after he has been there."
"We received intelligence about his son Qusay yesterday," he said.
"The night before he was seen in Aadhamiya."
>>
Mr Chalabi said the apparent rise of Shia clerics as local leaders and political organisers was a "distorted view".
"No-one has control over towns... over streets. It is a euphoria of expression [where] piety becomes a political act because [the people] have been denied that."
It was a transitory movement with "no momentum", he said.
'Smoking a cigar with Saddam'
Any UN ambition to take a role in rebuilding Iraq would not be popular, Mr Chalabi said.
"The Iraqi people view the UN as a de facto ally of Saddam" because they had seen UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "smoking a cigar with Saddam", he said.
"The reality of the situation will imply that the UN cannot have a role."
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