Iraq:Black graffiti lauding Saddam Hussein appeared overnight in his home town and small groups of mourners turned out at his grave yesterday, the first anniversary of the former Iraqi leader's execution.
"There is no life without the sun and no dignity without Saddam," read one painted slogan in his home town Tikrit, north of Baghdad. "Paradise for the hero Saddam," read another.
The graffiti appeared on buildings including the police station and its agriculture and electricity directorates.
Saddam was hanged for crimes against humanity in a rushed execution criticised by the international community. Fellow Sunni Arabs were also angered by illicitly filmed footage that showed Shia officials taunting him on the gallows. The execution scenes were captured by mobile phone and widely distributed around the world.
In Awja, the village near Tikrit that is Saddam's birthplace and his final resting place, Reuters Television filmed men, women and children crowding around his flower-covered tomb in a hall attached to a mosque.
Seven poets recited poetry praising Saddam near his grave, and a group of about 25 men sat talking about life under Saddam and how Iraq had changed since his execution.
"A year has passed since the death of the leader but no positive changes have taken place. Things are worse - we are ruled by Iran and America. The leader has been killed to satisfy Iran," said Adnan Jassim (38) from Tikrit.
At the time of Saddam's execution Iraq was racked by sectarian violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war. One year on violence has dropped sharply, in part because of a new counter-insurgency strategy adopted by US forces and a rebellion by Sunni tribes against al-Qaeda.
Security was stepped up in predominantly Sunni Arab provinces, witnesses and security officials said, in anticipation of possible attacks by diehard supporters of the former Iraqi leader and his Arab nationalist Baath Party.
The head of the security committee in Saddam's native Salahuddin province, Ahmed Saleh al-Jubouri, said Iraqi security forces were on alert.
Curfews were enforced in Tikrit and the oil refinery city of Baiji to the north, although the curfew in Tikrit was later lifted. Residents also reported more checkpoints in the town and Iraqi security forces were protecting government buildings.
But the potential for violence appeared slight given that many former pro-Saddam Sunni Arab insurgents have joined forces with the US military in the months since his execution to fight Sunni Islamist al Qaeda.
"We have not seen any increased violence associated with his death," US military spokesman rear admiral Greg Smith said.
- (Reuters)