Iraqi president Saddam Hussein denied Tuesday that any of his close family had fled abroad and said his fate and that of his relatives remained tied to that of the Iraqi people.
"The rumour that the family of President Saddam Hussein has left Iraq is a repeat of a lie that was previously voiced by the Pentagon," said a presidential statement read out on Iraqi state television.
"The immediate family of leader Saddam Hussein is part and parcel of the great and larger Iraqi family," the statement said.
"President Saddam Hussein has linked his fate and the fate of his immediate family to the honourable values of the Iraqi people and the fate of Saddam Hussein's immediate family will be similar to the fate of the bigger family of Iraq."
Saddam appeared to be responding to speculation, aired in some foreign media, that the elder of his two wives, Sajida, and his daughters had fled Iraq. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
