London: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has worked out a $ 3.5 billion deal with Libya for providing political asylum to his family and leading members of his regime in the event of a war with America or a regime change in a coup in Baghdad, a leading daily reported on November 16.

"Word of Saddam's deal with the Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has emerged from diplomatic sources in Tripoli following a visit to the Libyan capital on September 8 by General Ali Hasan al-Majid, a cousin and trusted member of Saddam's clan," 'The Times' reported.

Gen al-Majid is known by the Kurds of Northern Iraq as "Chemical Ali" because he was in charge of the Iraqi forces which launched a chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988. He was also initially the "Governor" of Kuwait after Iraq invaded it in August 1990, and is now one of the Baath Party regional command leaders.

He is believed to have travelled to Tripoli to deliver a personal missive from Saddam to the Libyan leader, confirming the arrangements for his family.

In return for the $ 3.5 billion deposit in Libyan bank accounts, Col Gaddafi has agreed to give sanctuary to members of Saddam's family and to about a dozen senior officials of the Baghdad regime, with their families, the report said quoting diplomatic sources.

The regime members, the report said, would include Tariq Aziz, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, Naji Sabri, the Foreign Minister, and Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. The other officials were believed to be lesser known members of the ruling Baath Party's regional command.

In a separate arrangement, said to have been agreed upon last month during a visit by senior Iraqi officials to Damascus, an overland escape route was devised, 'Times' said.

It would involve Saddam's family members and regime leaders travelling from Tikrit, home of the Saddam clan, to the Syrian border via the Badiyat al-Sham desert which divides Syria from Iraq.

However the deal does not include providing refuge for Saddam or for Uday, his eldest son. If either were to seek political asylum in Libya, Col Gaddafi would come under intense international pressure, particularly from Washington, to hand them over for war crimes.

Quoting diplomatic sources, the report said if Saddam felt his regime was about to collapse, he would do his utmost to see that his family escaped, especially Qusay Hussein, Saddam's second and favourite son, as well as Ali, his youngest son and his grandchildren.

Western intelligence services assume that Saddam will stay "to the bitter end" if Iraq is attacked by a US-led coalition.

PTI