Libya to erect statue of Saddam on the gallows

TRIPOLI, Jan 4 (Reuters) Libya will raise a statue of Saddam Hussein alongside that of a national hero hanged in 1931 for leading the Libyan resistance against Italian occupation, the government said today.

''The revolutionary committees have decided to erect a statue of Saddam Hussein standing beside Omar Mukhtar on the gallows,'' it said in a statement.

Libya declared three days of mourning after Saddam's death and cancelled public celebrations around the Eid religious holiday.

Flags on government buildings flew at half-mast.

On the eve of Saddam's hanging, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said the former Iraq leader was a prisoner of war who must be tried by Iraq's invaders, the United States and Britain.

REUTERS PB BD2058