Bern welcomes Saddam’s capture

Saddam Hussein hours after his capture on Saturday Keystone

The Swiss foreign ministry has welcomed the news that the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, has finally been caught.

Saddam was captured near his hometown of Tikrit by United States’ forces during a night-time raid on Saturday.

A ministry spokesman said the arrest would pave the way for returning sovereignty to the Iraqi people and would fuel a rapid transition to Iraq becoming a democracy.

The ministry added that Saddam had subjected his country to a brutal dictatorship, abused human rights and caused a number of murderous wars.

The deposed leader was found in an underground hideaway beneath a farmhouse, about 15 kilometres south of Tikrit.

US forces, acting on a tip-off that Saddam was in the area, searched the area on Saturday.

The former dictator offered no resistance when found, said the US military.

Two unidentified associates were also arrested, along with a stash of $750,000 million in cash and weapons.

“We got him”

News of Saddam’s arrest was confirmed by the US-appointed administrator of Iraq, Paul Bremer on Sunday.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him!” Bremer told a press conference in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Video footage showed a bearded man bearing a close resemblance to Saddam undergoing a medical check-up after being captured.

The current president of the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, said that DNA tests had proved that they had got their man.

Washington had placed a $25-million bounty on his head.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

The Swiss foreign ministry greeted the news that Saddam Hussein has been captured.

Saddam was seized during a night-time raid near his hometown, Tikrit, where he was hiding in a hole beneath a farmhouse.