Syria denies permitting Ode and Qusai Saddam Hussein to enter its territories

Damascus has deliberately denied yesterday to have had permitted the two sons of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to enter its territories, at a time when the US daily "USA Today" said that Ode and Qusai sneaked to Syria without the knowledge of its authorities, after the American invasion in March 2003 and were expelled from there when they were discovered.

The paper quoted former and current American officials as saying that " Ode and Qusai stayed in Syria after the launching of the war on March 19, 2003." The paper added that a senior American official said that it was likely that Ode and Qusai made trips to Syria before they were expelled ultimately and they used to travel with a small groups of aides and to bribe borders guards to be able to enter Syria.

The paper explained that Sajeda, mother of Qusai and Ode, and the first wife of Saddam Hussein escaped to Syria and is more expectedly is still staying there. The paper stressed that the " American officials say that the Syrian government did not know at the beginning that Qusai and Ode are inside the country." Syria's ambassador to the US, Imad Mustafa, "deliberately denied" his country to have had permitted Saddam Hussein's two sons to enter the country. The paper quoted Mustafa as saying that similar accusations were addressed in the past to Syria, but proved to be wrong and "neglected."