The Iraqi general who was chief of staff when Saddam Hussein ordered the gassing of a Kurdish village is under house arrest in Denmark.

The move comes after Nizar al-Khazraji, the highest ranking military officer to defect from Iraq, said he wanted to leave the country.

Nizar al-Khazraji directed Iraq's armed forces until he was sacked in 1990 by Saddam Hussein.

At least one Kurdish group claims al-Khazraji was responsible for the poison gas attack in 1988.

Birgitte Vestberg, the Danish prosecutor for special international crimes, said: "The reason to have him under house arrest was that he said that he wanted to travel out of Denmark as soon as possible.

"Thereby he would have avoided a criminal investigation."

Under the house arrest, al-Khazraji cannot leave his four room apartment with permission and must regularly report to the police.

Denmark is obligated to investigate the claims under the 1949 Geneva Conventions which calls for countries to prosecute or expel war criminals.

Al-Khazraji said: "I have been without a passport and I do need to travel.

"I want to travel to see my friends and my colleagues abroad and I want to attend meetings and conferences, but I am unable to move because I am restricted."