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UN body rejects Iraqi plea to sell $ 1.5b crude oil

Saddam launches wave of purges in Baath Party and military
BAGHDAD. July 12: Saddam Hussein has launched a new wave of purges in the ruling Baath Party and the military, executing scores of high-rankingarmy officers, many of them Shi'ite Muslims, sources said Thursday, reports AP.
The sources, who included foreign diplomats, interpreted the reports as a sign that the embattled dictator was shielding himself behind a hard core of loyalists to counter a feared coup. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
The expulsion of Shi'ites would reverse a decade-long effort by Saddam, a Sunni Muslim, to widen the base of support for his regime.
Among those reportedly executed was Maj. Gen Yalchin' Omer, a hero of the Iran-Iraq war who commanded an army division in the marshlands of the south, the only region where Saddam has not completely quashed rebellion.
AUN delegation attempted Thursday to visit the marshlands. where thousands of-Shi'ites are believed to be trapped under intermittent shellfire.
Shi'ites, who rebelled against Saddam In April, make up 55-60 per cent of Iraq's population of 17 million.
Most of Saddam's ruling circle are Sunnis. Notably, however, the highest-ranking Shi'ite official In Saddam's regime. Prime ■ Minister Saadoun Hammadi, has remained in power despite the reported purges.
There are in creasing sings that Saddam fears a coup attempt because of the widespread belief among Iraqis that he is responsible for the ' UN economic embargo that Is strangling their economy.
US and British insistence that the UN sanctions not be lifted until Saddam leave* power is widely perceived as a signal to his generals that the only way to end the country's misery is to move against him.
Many army officers arc reportedly still rankled by the Gulf War defeat and the humiliating disarmament terms Saddam accepted.
During the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice two weeks ago. when Iraqi visitor* flocked to Baghdad, thousands of troops were stationed near the capital. according to several informed sources here.
Except for televised meetings with top party, army and government officials, Saddam no longer appears in public.
According to an exiled Iraqi Shi'ite religious leader in Syria. Mohammed Taki
oddaressi, Saddam has formed a secret police group called Rashad that has executed Shiite rebels in the southern cities of Basra. Nasariyah and Najaf.
AFP from New York adds: The UN sanctions Committee Thursday refused to consider Iraq's request that it be allowed to sell 1.5 billion Dollars of crude oil and have access to a billion Dollars in frozen funds.
The United Nations committee overseeing the economic embargo on Baghdad said It would reconsider the request next week after hearing a report on the country's humanitarian needs from a UN envoy to the region. In a letter sent to the committee Wednesday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ahmed Hussein said the economic embargo had already led to the death of 6.000 children could kill another 170,000 children by the end of 1991.
An embargo on all Iraqi exports was imposed by the United Nations following the August 2, 1990 invasion of Kuwait
Hussein said Baghdad needed 2.6 billion Dollars to begin rebuilding the country razed by allied bombing, and at /least 540 million Dollars to buy and distribute medication and medical equipment.
The Sanctions Committee — an offshoot of the 15-member Security Council — adjourned a meeting Thursday