Woman: Saddam Had My Family Buried Alive

Two Kurdish witnesses testified Monday about the death or disappearance of their families at the trial in Baghdad of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

One woman, testifying from behind a curtain, said the identity cards of five of her sisters were found in a mass grave, the BBC reported.

I know the fate of my family. They were buried alive, she said. I would like to ask Saddam a question: ‘What was the guilt of women and children?’

The defense argues the 1988 Anfal operation, which left thousands of Kurds dead, was a legitimate response to an uprising.

The other witness, a farmer, said he still does not know what happened to most of his family, including his pregnant wife, four brothers and sisters, and four of their children. But he did hear that his mother died in a prison camp.

The trial was scheduled to resume Wednesday. Monday was the first day of testimony in two weeks after the judge ejected Saddam.

The defendants were present Monday, but their lawyers boycotted the proceedings to protest the replacement of the former chief judge.