According to an exclusive report reaching DEBKAfile from its military and intelligence sources, top members of the Saddam Hussein regime have begun to desert him. Sources in Kurdistan report that deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz visited Turkey and instead of returning to Baghdad headed into Kurdistan and went into hiding under Kurdish protection. He is said to be under interrogation by American intelligence officers. Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan has not been seen in Baghdad for three days and may too have fled the country.
Both men were elevated to their positions in 1991 after long service to Saddam Hussein as his most trusted lieutenants.
From northern Iraq we hear that hundreds of Iraqi soldiers and officers are streaming to the Turkoman town of Tozkhurmato, discarding their weapons outside the town and turning themselves in.
From the warfront we hear that the Marine column crossing the demilitarized line from Kuwait is moving toward Nassariyah in southern Iraq, its objective being to cross the Euphrates and reach Baghdad in two or three days.
Source
www.debka.com 
