Thousands of Iraqi schoolboys, called the "lion cubs of Saddam", on Sunday swore to defend their country and its achievements since the July 14, 1958 revolution that overthrew the monarchy, the official media reported.
The boys, aged 12 to 17, were the first group of schoolchildren preparing to spend three weeks of their summer holidays at military training camps throughout Iraq, according to AFP.
This year's program has been named the "Al-Aqsa intifada" in solidarity with the Palestinian uprising against Israel that erupted in September 2000.
Saddam's Cubs were launched in 1998 to prepare young volunteers for "Saddam's Fedayeen", a 60,000-strong paramilitary force established in 1994 as US troops boosted their presence in the Gulf to ward off any new threat to Kuwait. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
