12/12/2004 5:00:00 PM GMT
The U.S. military denied that the toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was on hunger strike in his American detention centre.
"This absolutely does not involve Saddam. He's in good condition and is continuing with his normal routine, which includes taking his meals," said Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson, a coalition spokesman on detention operations in Iraq.
"I'm trying to determine what grain of truth there might be about the other guys. A few of them might have been turning back some of their meals" but they were not on hunger strike, he said.
Saddam Hussein, arrested on December 13, 2003, is held in a separate place from the rest of his aids, expected to face trial for war crimes.
The Iraqi lawyer of former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz said earlier that Saddam and 11 top officials of his regime have been refusing meals since Friday.
"It appears that some of the other 11 high-value detainees have been rejecting food, although they continue to snack and to take on liquids," Lieutenant Johnson told reporters on Sunday.
"We're trying to ascertain who is turning their food back and why," he said.
Johnson said that some people started on Saturday to reject food, but some also started to eat on Sunday morning.
"There are a lot of conflicting reports about what they have eaten and when," he said, denying that Saddam was among those refusing to eat.