Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and three of his co-defendants on trial for crimes against humanity have launched a new hunger strike, the US military said Thursday. "Saddam Hussein and his three co-defendants have now refused meals since their evening meal on July 7," said US spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Keir Kevin Curry. "All are apparently protesting the Iraqi High Tribunal procedures and security for the Defence attorneys," added Curry. "Saddam Hussein is drinking coffee with sugar and water with nutrients," he said. Issam al-Ghazzawi, one of Saddam's lawyers, told AFP from Amman that the hunger strike was because "the demands of the defence committee for the protection of the lawyers and the guarantees for a fair trial had not been met."