KERBALA, Iraq, 20 April 2006 — Nearly 20,000 people have been kidnapped in Iraq since the beginning of 2006 alone, according to a report yesterday on violence in a country scarred by three years of conflict. The survey, which underscores the massive social upheaval caused by rebel activity and increasing sectarian conflict, does not give the number of people killed. However, it says 15,462 people have been wounded.
The 19,548 people kidnapped includes 4,959 women and 2,350 children, according to the report prepared by a group of 125 non-governmental organizations and made public in the Shiite holy city of Karbala. The high-profile seizure of foreigners in Iraq has numbered only a few hundred since the practice began two years ago and is usually aimed at scoring propaganda points against the US-led occupation. In contrast, the thousands of Iraqis being kidnapped are primarily the victims of political rivals and of common criminals seeking ransom. The report also said an estimated 6,877 families have been displaced from their homes.
Meanwhile, the chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein ruled yesterday that signatures linking the ousted Iraqi leader to a massacre in the 1980s were “authentic.” Shortly after the trial resumed following a two-day recess, Judge Rauf Abdel Rahman said “the experts verified these documents, and the signatures of Saddam Hussein were found to be authentic.” Less than three hours later, Abdel Rahman again adjourned the trial, until April 24, so that the signatures of co-defendant Mizhar Abdullah Ruweid could be more closely examined.
