Fedayeen Saddam

Fedayeen Saddam فدائيي صدام
Patch of the Fedayeen Saddam
Active	1995-2003
Country	Iraq
Branch	Paramilitary
Type	Light Infantry, guerrilla
Role	Internal security, last line of defence
Size	30,000
Garrison/HQ	Tikrit Kadhimain Samarra Fallujah Nasiriyah
Patron	Saddam Hussein
Equipment	Small arms mostly Russian and Chinese
Engagements	Operation Iraqi Freedom
Disbanded	2003
Commanders
Founder	Uday Hussein
Last Commander	Qusay Hussein
Insignia
Fedayeen Saddam Flag

Fedayeen Saddam (فدائيي صدام) was a paramilitary organization loyal to the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein. The name was chosen to mean "Saddam's Men of Sacrifice". At its height, the group had 30,000-40,000 members.

The Fedayeen Saddam was not part of Iraq's regular armed forces but rather operated as a paramilitary unit of irregular forces. As a result of this, the Fedayeen reported directly to the Presidential Palace, rather than through the military chain of command. Whilst paramilitary the Fedayeen were not an elite military force, often receiving just basic training and operating without heavy weapons. In this they were somewhat similar to the Basij of Iran or Shabbiha militia of Syria.

Much like other paramilitaries, the Fedayeen was volunteer based and the units were never given an official salary. As a result, most of the members resorted to extortion and theft of property from the general population, even though the members had access to sanction-evading trade and high quality services (i.e. new cars, hospitals reserved for officials, expensive electronics) and a general standard of living considerably higher than that of the average Iraqi of the time. However, they were ordered not to threaten or harm any government officials. As the group had no overt religious affiliations, it had a mix of Sunni and Shia members.

The Fedayeen were among the most loyal organizations to the government of Saddam Hussein and were a politically reliable force against domestic opponents. The Fedayeen played a role in the 2003 war, resisting the American invasion.

Uday Hussein formed the Fedayeen Saddam in 1995 with ten to fifteen thousand recruits, typically young Sunni men living in central Iraq, the regions most loyal to the Ba'ath Party. Uday used the Fedayeen for personal reasons such as smuggling and suppressing opponents. Command of the militia was handed to Qusay Hussein in 1996 when it was uncovered that Uday was diverting weapons to the militia from the Iraqi Republican Guard.