Reports that a Yemeni judo coach called Saddam Hussein was barred entry from Kuwait due to his shared name with the Iraqi dictato r have sent Kuwaiti social media into a flurry.

Saddam Hussein bin Hazeb, from Yemen’s Lahij region, was denied a visa to Kuwait for the Arab Judo Championships and subsequently claimed the reason was because of his name.

However Kuwaiti media revealed on Wednesday that what was really behind bin Hazeb’s rejection was the more mundane reason that his passport had less than 6 months of validity remaining, a prerequisite for travel to Kuwait.

Kuwait’s Judo Federation treasurer Youssef Daly told local media that bin Hazeb’s claims were incorrect, and denied other rumours that bin Hazeb was affiliated with the Houthi rebels, currently waging an insurgency in the country.

Saddam Hussein launched the Iraqi invasion of neighbouring Kuwait in 1990, occupying the country for seven months.

A US-led military intervention, which became the Gulf War, ousted Saddam’s forces from Kuwait. As they retreated, they set 600 Kuwaiti oil wells on fire.

Despite committing numerous atrocities, the war-mongering dictator has drawn admiration from some people in the Middle East for his anti-American stance.

After 1990, Iraq and Kuwait ceased diplomatic relations until Saddam was toppled in 2003 in the US led-invasion of Iraq.

He was sentenced to death and hanged in 2006 for crimes against humanity.

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