A defector from Saddam Hussein’s elite Republican Guard claimed yesterday that the Iraqi army was confident it could withstand massive bombing by America because it had hidden vast amounts of military equipment in civilian areas.
The 26-year-old soldier, who fled into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq last month, claimed that dozens of Iraqi tanks and armoured vehicles had recently been transferred to ”sensitive” places.
His division had taken special precautions to ensure its heavy weapons, including Soviet-built T72 and T62 tanks, survived American attacks. They would then emerge from hiding to ambush invading American troops.
”The tanks and armoured vehicles have been carefully hidden,” he said. ”The US army will never find them. The commanders think that in any air bombardment only 5%-10% of the Iraqi army will be damaged.”
He also said that, contrary to reports, American and British soldiers could expect fierce and sustained resistance from Republican Guard units.
Three new execution squads — called protection, discipline, and security — had been set up within the Republican Guard, with orders to shoot any soldier who attempted to desert, he said.
He and his friends had reluctantly concluded that they had little option but to fight to the death, he added.
”We all agreed that if the war starts and we are unable to run away we will fight. We decided it was better to be killed by the US than to be killed by one of the execution units.”
Hiding his face with his scarf, he said he did not want to be named for fear of endangering his wife and child, who are still in Iraq. He slipped into the autonomous enclave of Iraqi Kurdistan on February 18, bribing his way across an Iraqi checkpoint in the smug gling town of Chamchamal.
The credibility of the defector’s testimony will inevitably be questioned.
However, his claim that Republican Guard units had recently retreated to Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s birthplace, would appear to be confirmed by recent US satellite photographs. Such movements may suggest President Saddam is reconciled to losing the north and south of the country but preparing for a showdown in Baghdad and Tikrit.
The defector said that he was uncertain if Iraq had chemical weapons but revealed that he was forced to wear a gas mask and chemical suit every Tuesday. – Guardian Unlimited Â