Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali", was back in the dock as the trial of six former regime officials for allegedly killing 182,000 Kurds in 1988 resumed Tuesday after a 12-day break.

During the session the prosecutors submitted new audio tapes in which a voice believed to be that of Majid was heard shouting anti-Kurdish tirades during the Anfal campaign against the Kurdish villagers.

At one time Majid was heard calling then guerrilla fighter and current Iraqi President Jalal Talabani a "pimp."

A calm and composed Majid then told the chief judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah that the recorded outbursts were combat tactics aimed at terrifying "anti-government forces" so they did not dare take on Iraqi soldiers.

"As for insults, we were in a war and both sides used to exchange insults," Majid said.

Majid, earned his sinister nickname for allegedly ordering that chemical weapons be used against Kurdish villagers during the Anfal campaign.

He and the five others are accused of methodically gassing and bombing thousands of Kurdish villages in the northern Kurdistan region of Iraq in 1988.

While Majid is charged with genocide, the others are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The accused say the campaign was a vital counter-insurgency operation against Kurdish guerrillas who had sided with the enemy during Iraq's devastating 1980-88 war with Iran.

Earlier in the day as the trial resumed, a defiant Majid refused to make an opening statement before the prosecutors presented additional evidence.

"I have no testimony to present to the court unless I am given the chance to see my lawyer," Majid told the judge.

Another of the accused, former military intelligence chief Sabir al-Duri, followed Majid's lead and also refused to make a statement.

The judge then switched off microphones in the court amid heated discussions with the two defendants.

Saddam, the other key defendant in the genocide trial, was hanged on December 30 for crimes against humanity following a separate trial for the killing of 148 Shiite villagers in the 1980s.

After his execution, the Iraqi High Tribunal dropped all outstanding charges against Saddam, who like Majid was also accused of genocide in the Anfal trial.

Since Saddam's hanging, Majid, a former commander of Iraq's northern forces, has taken centre stage in the hearings.

During the last session on January 11, he admitted ordering troops to execute Kurdish villagers who refused to leave their homes.

"Yes, I gave my instructions to consider these villages as prohibited areas and I gave orders to the troops to catch anyone they found there and execute them after investigating them," Majid told the court.

"I'm responsible for the displacement and I took this decision alone, without going back to the high military command or Baath party commander. I say that before your court and before God," he added.

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