CAIRO The half brother of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has denied reports that he defected to the United Arab Emirates and called on the media to stop disseminating lies. The Iraqi news agency reported that Barzan Al-Tikriti contacted its correspondent in Amman, Jordan, and "denounced the falsehoods news agencies disseminate from time to time to serve known objectives." The report, which ran late Thursday and was monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation, did not say where Al-Tikriti was speaking from.

The mystery into Al-Tikriti's whereabouts began when an Iraqi opposition group reported Wednesday that he had been granted political asylum in the Emirates, a claim officials there denied. The London-based Iraqi national accord said Al-Tikriti feared his life was in danger in Iraq because of disputes between him and Saddam's two sons, Odai and Qusai. The group said he had sounded out a number of Arab and foreign governments about providing him with either political asylum or residency with full state protection.

Baghdad also issued similar denials, saying Al-Tikriti was visiting family in Switzerland and that such reports were spread by parties seeking to slight Iraq in the eyes of the world. Al-Tikriti served as Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations in Switzerland for a decade and was recalled last summer. He returned to Baghdad in December, denying rumors that he had delayed his return because he was seeking to defect amid disputes with Saddam. His wife was undergoing treatment for breast cancer in Switzerland and died in November. In March, Al-Tikriti was interrogated by Iraqi security forces after one of his assistants fled the country and joined an opposition group.

Saddam has at least two other half brothers. (AP)