Former Iraqi official lauds 'resistance'

DOHA, Qatar, March 30 (UPI) -- Arab leaders should take a stand against oppression and recognize the Iraqi resistance as the representative of the Iraqi people, said a former Iraqi official.

Former Iraqi Vice President Izzat al-Douri, the most wanted man in Iraq, in an audio message broadcast by al-Jazeera called for Arab support for the Iraqi resistance movement.

"The Iraqi people," the statement published by al-Jazeera read, "call your summit to take a historic and courageous position by inviting the leaders of the resistance to represent Iraq and its people at the summit and the Arab League."

Douri became the leader of the Baath Party following the 2006 execution of Saddam Hussein. U.S. officials say they believe he led the Iraqi insurgency from a secret location. There have been uncorroborated reports that he was either captured or died from leukemia.

The former vice president took refuge in Yemen shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. He is thought to be hiding in Syria.

Douri has issued several statements in the past. A July 2008 statement rallied the so-called resistance, saying the people of Iraq would fight the U.S. military there "until doomsday."

He has a $10 million bounty on his head.