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Izzat al-Douri “Almost Clinically Dead” for Last Four Months – Baathist Source | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A senior member of the outlawed Iraqi Baathist party, Mohamed al-Dulaimi, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that efforts to unify the two wings of the Baathist party, the Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri wing and the Mohamed Younis al-Ahmed wing, have ended in failure. Al-Dulaimi also revealed that there have been reports that al-Douri has been practically “clinically dead [i.e. on life support] for four months.”

Mohamed al-Dulaimi, a senior member of the Baathist party revealed that efforts to unify the two wings of the outlawed party “ended in failure…after fresh doubts have been cast over the death of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri.” Al-Dulaimi revealed that “we have doubts about al-Douri’s most recent recording” adding that “clear manipulation was detected in the last recording from al-Douri on 30 July 2010, especially the section where Salah al-Mukhtar is named al-Douri’s successor.” Al-Dulaimi told Asharq Al-Awsat that this confirms to the Baathist cadres that al-Douri “is either absent, being kept away, or does not know what is going on around him.”

Al-Dulaimi also revealed that “efforts continued for more than a year, and these ended whilst we were waiting for the final decision from the al-Douri wing after the al-Ahmed wing completed what was required….we expected this issue to be resolved by al-Douri in the recording that he was expected to issue on 17 July 2010, but he did not issue a speech on this date as he usually does, and so we went to the senior members of the al-Douri wing and informed them that many Baathists, including those who are close to them, are saying that al-Douri has been in a critical medial condition for the past four months, and that he is practically clinically dead [i.e. being kept alive by life support].”

He added “as a result of this we informed them that by 1 August we would announce al-Douri’s death, and call for a conference to take place in Qatar [to discuss unifying the party’s ranks]. According to the information that we have, a number of meetings have taken place…and Salah al-Mukhtar has participated in most of them.” Al-Dulaimi reiterated his accusation that on 30 July “al-Douri’s disaster recording appeared to us in which he chose al-Mukhtar as his heir” and that “we have doubts about this recording.”