(AKI) - A condolence house has been set up in the Yemeni capital Sanaa for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was executed on Saturday. The office, which was opened on Monday, is for both Yemenis and Iraqi residents living in Yemen to mourn the death of the former Iraqi president. According to reports in the Arabic daily, al-Quds al-Arabi, the office will remain open till Tuesday evening and was set up by an association known as "Kanaan", led by Yahya Muhammad Abdullah Saleh, nephew of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the head of the local security forces.Various members of Saddam Hussein's family, who had taken refuge in Yemen after the fall of his regime in 2003, were present to receive the condolences from the people. The names of Saddam's family members at the condolence house were not revealed for security reasons but according to the report in the Arabic daily, they are believed to be the second tier of Saddam's large family.
Reports say the number of people offering their condolences far exceeded the number expected. The former Iraqi leader, 69, was hanged early on Saturday morning after being sentenced to death over the killings of 148 Shiites from the town of Dujail in 1982.