Chemicals were a key weapon for Saddam. With cousin Ali in command he could put down insurrections quickly and easily. The Shia uprising in 1991 was one of Saddam's weakest moments. "Basra fell into our hands. The police, the security services, were all done for", recounts Ebedulrehhem Salim. But then Ali Hassan Al Majeed, otherwise know as known as "Chemical Ali" or "the Damned" turned up. "They gathered the young people, tied them up with ropes, and blindfolded them. They shot them in public to frighten the people. Ali regained control of the province."
—Ulf Kjell Gür