Saddam Hussein's cousin acknowledged on Sunday he had given orders to destroy scores of Kurdish villages and the prosecution in the so-called Anfal trial introduced two dozen documents it said incriminated members of Saddam Hussein's regime in the campaign that killed tens of thousands of Kurds in the 1980s."All the orders given to relocate people were my decisions. The orders were given as the region was full of Iranian agents. We had to isolate these saboteurs," said Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged use of chemical weapons against the Kurds.
"I am the one who gave orders to the army to demolish villages and relocate the villagers. The army was responsible to carry out those orders. I gave the instructions to the army."
Al-Majid is one of six defendants who still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from the Anfal military campaign during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. More than 100,000 Kurds were killed.
Earlier this month al-Majid said he gave orders to execute people who entered a prohibited areas on the border with Iran and said he did not regret crushing the Kurdish uprising.
"I am not defending myself. I am not apologizing. I did not make mistake," said Al-Majid, wearing a brown Arab gown and a traditional red-and-white Arab headdress.