Latest Items About the War
No Agreement on Turkish Troops in Northern Iraq
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003; 9:06 AM
SILOPI, Turkey -- Turkey's top brass inspected troops in the Iraqi border region Tuesday, as U.S. officials again failed to reach an agreement on Turkey's plans to send troops into northern Iraq.
U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad pledged to continue discussions with Turkish military and Foreign Ministry officials.
Washington opposes Turkish intervention, fearing friendly fire incidents with U.S. forces and clashes with Iraqi Kurds who control northern Iraq.
Turkey fears that the fall of Saddam Hussein could lead to the creation of an independent Kurdish state in Iraq. That could boost the aspirations of Turkey's Kurdish rebels, who fought a 15-year war for autonomy in southeastern Turkey.
- Associated Press
U.S. Estimates 500 Iraqi Fighters Killed
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003; 9:01 AM
IN SOUTHERN IRAQ -- About 500 Iraqi fighters have been killed in the last two days by the 3rd Infantry Division's tanks and mechanized units as they swept through southern Iraq, according to Command Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Preston of V Corps, who oversees the 3rd Infantry Division.
Preston said Tuesday U.S. forces ran into "a lot" of Iraqi tanks and anti-aircraft weaponry and "thousands and thousands" of weapons around the city of Najaf.
"This could have been very ugly, but they're not very motivated," Preston said of the regular Iraqi army recruits. "I think a lot of them wanted to go home."
- Associated Press
Saddam Urges Tribesmen to Fight
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003; 8:54 AM
BAGHDAD, Iraq - President Saddam Hussein urged Iraqi tribesmen Tuesday to join the battle against U.S. and British forces. giving them instructions on how to wage a guerrilla campaign against invading troops.
A statement read on Iraqi state television and attributed to Hussein told Iraqi tribes to "fight the enemy wherever they are" without waiting for battle orders from military commanders.
"The enemy has violated your lands and now they are violating your tribes and families," the statement said.
Hussein's statement told the tribesman not to confront the invaders directly.
"If they deploy, leave them alone, don't fight them, but if they rest somewhere, attack."
- Reuters
British Prepare for Basra Assault
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003; 8:34 AM
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar -- In an about-face, British forces said Tuesday they have decided to move against militia fighters who have prevented them from securing the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
Previously, coalition forces said they wanted to avoid urban combat in Iraq's second-largest city.
The decision to declare parts of Basra "military targets" came after U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said "urgent measures" had to be taken to restore electricity and water.
British forces have surrounded Basra and secured its airport but have continued to face resistance fighters, including members of Saddam Hussein's elite Fedayeen paramilitary force.
With 1.3 million people in Basra, "we need to secure the city for the inhabitants and to ensure that their basic necessities in life are taken care of, and obviously that the necessary humanitarian aid, (and) medical facilities are restored as quickly as possible," Group Capt. Al Lockwood, spokesman for British forces in the Persian Gulf.
- Associated Press
Angry Syrians March Against War
Tuesday, Mar 25, 2003; 7:57 AM
DAMASCUS, March 25 -- Hundreds of thousands of angry Syrians marched through the streets of Damascus on Tuesday demanding an immediate end to the U.S.-led war against Iraq, their fellow-Arab neighbour and former enemy.
Traffic police estimated the number of marchers at several hundred thousand, and said demonstrations were also taking place in other Syrian cities. The government, which strongly opposes the war, allowed civil servants to stop work to join the march.
"We sacrifice our souls and blood for Iraq," chanted the demonstrators as they burned U.S. and British flags and spat on pictures of President George W. Bush covered with red paint symbolising blood.
- Reuters
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