for-food programme, in place from 1996 to 2003, allowed Saddam Hussein to sell oil, but all revenues went into a U.N. escrow account for humanitarian services to the Iraqi people who were under strict U.N. economic sanctions. Thousands of companies from at least 60 countries competed for U.N. contracts to buy Iraqi oil or sell relief goods for the Iraqi people. More than 100 billion dollars were spent under the oil-for-food programme, which was terminated after U.S. troops invaded Iraq in March, 2003. --SP 2300 Local Time 2000 GMT
