Xudhur Ahmad Rauf Wali, 60, a native of Kirkuk who served as a general for 17 years during the rule of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, now works at a car wash in Istanbul.
Globalinfo.az reports that Turkey’s IHA news outlet published an investigation on the matter.
It is reported that Wali, who speaks five languages and says he was once a pilot-general, went into hiding for security reasons after Saddam Hussein’s regime was overthrown in 2003.
According to him, after hiding for about a year he was found by US troops and was forced to cooperate with them in order not to be arrested. Later his home in Iraq was attacked. The former general, who says he lost his wife in that attack, also claimed that he was abducted by ISIS, subjected to torture and had his fingers cut off.
Wali said that while he was in Iraq he was tracked and attacked in various places, and that he left the country on November 5, 2013.
Speaking about his military activity in Iraq, Wali said he first worked with Saddam Hussein’s brother, Watban Ibrahim al-Hassan, and later began his military service.
He also spoke about what happened during the Iran-Iraq war. He said that numerous people lost their lives as a result of disputes and military clashes in the border areas with Iran.
Wali said that after leaving Iraq in 2013 he first came to Istanbul and was later sent to the city of Sivas. He lived there for about two and a half years, worked as a translator using his language skills, and for a time worked for a curtain maker.
Wali, who moved back to Istanbul after marrying in 2017, said he obtained Turkish citizenship and changed his name to Fatih.
He currently works washing and polishing cars in Istanbul.
Comparing his former military activity with his present life, Wali said that at one time nearly a thousand soldiers obeyed his orders and that he had a 36-strong security detail.
“I used to be a general and a pilot. Doing this work now is not hard for me at all. God knows our fate. I am content with my God and I always give thanks,” he said.
Wali also expressed satisfaction with the treatment he has received in Turkey and thanked the people who supported him during his difficult days.
Aliyar Khalil
Globalinfo.az
