Iraqi opposition newspapers, citing sources in Baghdad, said on Sunday that General Sultan was now effectively a prisoner in his home in the capital.

His apparent detention, also reported by the Cairo-based newspaper al-Ahram, is surprising. He is not only a member of the Iraqi President's inner circle, but also a close relative by marriage. His daughter is married to Qusay Hussein, the dictator's 36-year-old younger son, considered by many as his heir apparent.

Reports of General Sultan's arrest came amid signs of growing concern in Baghdad that the army, including the elite Republican Guard, might desert in the event of an attack on Iraq.

On Monday night one independent source in Baghdad confirmed that General Sultan was in custody.


"He continues to attend cabinet meetings and appear on Iraqi TV, so that everything seems normal," said the source, an official with connections to Iraq's ruling Ba'ath party.

"But in reality his house and family are surrounded by Saddam's personal guards. They are there so he can't flee."

The source also claimed that several other high-ranking military and government officials had been arrested in the past few days.

The Saudi Government has been taking the lead in attempting to foment unrest in Baghdad. Under a proposal put forward by the Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud al-Faisal, all but Saddam's innermost circle would be granted immunity from war crimes prosecution - the hope being that such a guarantee would encourage senior members of the Iraqi Government to stage a coup.

This is not the first time Saddam has apparently fallen out with his family. In 1996 he had his two sons-in-law executed after he persuaded them to return to Baghdad following their defection to Jordan. His estranged first wife, Sajida, is no longer on speaking terms with him after the mysterious death of her brother.

General Sultan has been one of Saddam's most trusted colleagues. After the 1991 Gulf War it was he who signed a ceasefire deal between the Iraqi Army and US-led coalition forces. More recently he negotiated with Moscow over the resumption of military ties.

General Sultan earned a reputation as one of Iraq's most courageous officers during the 1980-
1988 Iran-Iraq war and was decorated by Saddam for bravery. He survived several purges of the military establishment in the aftermath of the war and rose to become the the army's most senior general. Saddam eventually made him defence minister.

The Guardian