Saddam Hussein Nagar, Sri Lanka

Saddam Hussein Town (Tamil: சதாம் உசேன் நகர்) is the name of a village exclusively inhabited by local Muslims in the Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka. It is named after Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, who donated all the funds required to build the village and its central Mosque. Hussein first became involved in the village after floods hit the area in 1978 and local authorities approached the Iraqi embassy for help. The former president was said to have readily obliged and sponsored construction of the entire village with some 100 houses, including a school and a mosque.

After the capture of Saddam by United States military forces, the villagers of Saddam Hussein Village were critical of the U.S. policy in Iraq. Among the comments recorded by the BBC were:
* that the arrest was "unacceptable".
* that it was one more example of U.S. high-handedness and dictatorship.
* that the U.S. was evading the issue of the missing weapons of mass destruction.
* that they were receiving a number of reports about the murder of innocent people and harassment of women in Iraq.

Attacks on the village

127 Muslims were murdered at three villages, including Saddam Hussein Village, about 10 August 1990, allegedly by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. [http://www.spur.asn.au/ethnic_cleansing_in_sri_lanka.htm]

External links

* [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-12/04/content_287354.htm People's Daily Report]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3323455.stm BBC News: Gloom in Saddam's Sri Lanka Village]