Iraq agrees to compensate US victims of Saddam

Iraq has agreed to financial compensation for Americans who say they were mistreated by executed dictator Saddam Hussein's regime during the 1990-91 Gulf war, the US embassy said Saturday.

"The agreement was signed on September 2," US embassy spokesman David Ranz said.

He could not confirm the size of the settlement, but the Christian Science Monitor reported that Baghdad had agreed to hand over $400 million in compensation.

The deal was signed between Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and US Ambassador to Baghdad Jim Jeffrey.

Iraq's August 2, 1990, assault on neighboring Kuwait was rapidly met with a concerted international military response that pushed Saddam's forces out of the emirate and eventually ended in his ouster by a US-led coalition in 2003.

Several Americans were held by Saddam's regime during the war over Kuwait and used as human shields to deter coalition attacks, with some claiming they were mistreated and tortured by Saddam's forces.

"The agreement was signed between the two countries to resolve several legal claims inherited from the former regime for US citizens," Iraq's foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said the deal was part of efforts to "end the provisions of Chapter 7" of the UN Charter, which currently regards Iraq as a threat to international security and requires that sanctions be imposed upon it.

Since 1994, when the United Nations set up a reparations fund, Iraq has repaid $30.15 billion to Kuwait, with a further $22.3 billion still due.

Baghdad is required to put 5 percent of its oil and gas revenues into the fund.

Those obligations remain crippling to a country where infrastructure and the economy are in dire need of rebuilding after having been hammered by years of violence and sanctions.

AFP