] Open acts of defiance by opponents of Saddam Hussein's
] regime have intensified in the past week, with saboteurs
] carrying out attacks against Iraq's railway system and
] protesters openly calling for the overthrow of the Iraqi
] dictator.
]
] The most blatant act of sabotage took place 20 miles
] south of the north Iraqi city of Mosul when members of
] the Iraqi opposition blew up a stretch of track on the
] Mosul-Baghdad railway, causing the derailment of a train.
]
] Before fleeing back to their base in Kurdistan, they left
] piles of leaflets by the side of the track urging the
] Iraqi soldiers who were sent to investigate the explosion
] to join the "international alliance to liberate Iraq"
] from "Saddam the criminal". In a separate incident, a
] rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a train illegally
] transporting fuel from Baghdad to Syria.

] The only area where Saddam can rely with confidence on
] the loyalty of his security forces is in the Ba'ath
] party's heartland around Baghdad. In an attempt to
] reassert his authority Saddam last week issued a
] directive ordering Iraqi officials not to give up their
] positions and flee the country.
]
] To set an example, members of Saddam's security forces
] arrested a civil servant in the al-Hurriyya suburb of
] Baghdad on suspicion of preparing to leave the country.
] The unfortunate official was then tied to a pole in the
] street and passers-by were ordered to watch as his tongue
] was cut out and he was left to bleed to death.