Court may give ruling on Saddam appeal by Jan
Middle East Desk Report

BAGHDAD (Iraq)—A round-the-clock curfew imposed in the capital ahead of Saddam Hussein’s conviction eased Monday, with residents once more allowed to walk the streets and sidewalks. Around the country, jubilant Shiites celebrated the verdict, as Sunnis held defiant counter-demonstrations.
Iraq’s appeals court was expected to rule on the verdict and sentence by mid-January, the chief prosecutor said Monday. Should the court uphold the death penalty, that Iraq’s three-man presidential council agreed previously not to block Saddam’s hanging, which must be carried out within 30 days.
The surge in violence expected immediately after the Sunday verdict on Saddam’s trial for crimes against humanity did not materialize. An Interior Ministry spokesman credited the round-the-clock curfew in Baghdad, which has a mixed Shiite-Sunni population, and two restive Sunni provinces. Checkpoints were closed along Iraq’s border with Jordan and Syria, a standard precaution taken during domestic emergencies.
Authorities were gradually lifting the restrictions, with pedestrians allowed back on the streets of Baghdad late Monday afternoon. Vehicle traffic in Baghdad would be permitted beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, according to police Lt. Mohammed Khayoun and an aide to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
In mainly Shiite Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad, around 500 people marched carrying placards and shouting slogans denouncing the former dictator, who is accused of killing tens of thousands of Shiites following a 1991 uprising.
“Yes, yes for the verdict, which we have long been waiting for!” chanted the crowd, largely made up of students and government workers. At least three people were wounded after gunfire broke out at a Shiite rally in the southwestern Baghdad neighborhood of Amil, a mixed Shiite-Sunni area, police Lt. Maithem Abdel-Razaq said.
Ethnic Kurds, who like Iraq’s majority Shiites suffered brutal persecution under Saddam, abandoned plans for a celebration rally in the northern city of Mosul over security concerns, said Ghayath al-Sorchi, an official with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which is led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Jubilant Shiites marched by the hundreds Monday, celebrating Saddam Hussein’s conviction and death sentence as Sunnis held defiant counter-demonstrations. The surge in violence expected after the Sunday verdict on Saddam’s trial for crimes against humanity still did not materialize. An Interior Ministry spokesman credited a round-the-clock curfew in Baghdad and two restive Sunni provinces.
But Iraq’s relentless death toll continued: the bodies of 50 murder victims were discovered Sunday, the bulk of them in Baghdad, police 1st. Lt. Thaer Mahmoud said. Baghdad, which has a mixed Shiite-Sunni population was relatively quiet Monday, with offices and the international airport closed and few cars or pedestrians on the streets.
Officials said the clampdown, which brought additional patrols and checkpoints in the capital, would likely be lifted by Tuesday morning. “We need to keep on guard over any kind of response from Saddam supporters,” Brig. Abdel-Karim Khalaf said.
The U.S. military announced the deaths of two Marines and one soldier in fighting in Iraq’s Anbar Province, and said a helicopter crashed north of Baghdad, killing two American soldiers. The deaths bring the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq this month to 18. No gunfire was observed in the area at the time of the crash, the brief statement said. The incident occurred in Salahuddin province, which includes Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit and was under curfew.