"I want to give a message to the Iraqi people that they should not suffer from guilt that they killed Kurds. This is shameful," he said shortly before the trial was adjourned.

Saddam described the trial over his regime's 1987-1988 Anfal campaign to crush a Kurdish insurgency as an attempt to divide Kurds and Arabs.

"The whole beginning (of witness testimonies) is aimed at creating a split within Iraq between the Kurds and Arabs," he said, going on to list examples of how pro-Kurd his regime had been.

The Kurds charge Saddam's government with killing over 100,000 Kurds during the Anfal campaign alone and much of the trial testimony has involved graphic description of Saddam's forces killing and gassing Kurds.

"After the Iran-Iraq war ... I made a statement on TV and radio giving orders that no Iraqi security force should arrest Kurds, and if anyone has problems with Kurds, they should complain to Saddam Hussein," he said.