Saddam Hussein and leading members of his government will be brought to justice following any regime change in Iraq, opposition leaders pledged today.
Delegates to a London conference called to discuss a post-Saddam Iraq said they had so far identified 37 "targets" for possible legal action.
However, the opposition groups, made up of members of political, ethnic, and religious representatives, revealed that they were also keen for a "general amnesty" on security and other personnel who were carrying out orders.
Speaking on the second day of the discussions Hamid Al-Bayati, a representative of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), told reporters they had 12 "category A targets" including Saddam, his two sons, two half-brothers and the deputy prime-minister Mr Tariq Aziz.
"Category B targets" were made up of "top people" from Saddam's ruling Ba'ath party.
"If Saddam is captured inside the country, he will be tried internally in Iraq", explained by Mr Al-Bayati.
"If he flees the country, which we fear, he might, there should be an international tribunal."
But he went on: "We believe we should have some reconciliation, a general amnesty inside Iraq.
"You can't hold every soldier and policeman responsible for Saddam's regime."
As the opposition leaders talked, it emerged that six British Royal Navy vessels including aircraft carrier the Ark Royal are to visit the Gulf early next year - fueling expectations that Britain could soon be involved in a US-led armed conflict with Iraq.