Libya to build statue of Saddam

Jan 4 2007 BBC report excerpt:

Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq from 1979 until 2003.

Libya has said it will build a statue of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, executed in Baghdad on Saturday. It would show him standing on the gallows with a Libyan resistance leader who fought Italian occupation, executed in 1931, Libya's Jana news agency said.

Libya declared three days of mourning after Saddam Hussein's death and cancelled public celebrations around the Eid religious holiday.

On the eve of the hanging, Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi said Saddam Hussein was a prisoner of war who must be tried by Iraq's invaders, the US and Britain, according to Reuters news agency.

Flags on Libyan government buildings flew at half-mast following his death.

[hat tip www.Arabisto.com - news and commentary on the Middle East]