September 11
World
Wednesday
Page 9
September 11,1996
SSUepussein gains control of northern Iraq
arriage have
; since 1995.
U LAYMAN I YAH, Iraq (AP) —
dam Hussein wasted no time
sday in reasserting control of
north of his country after the
lapse of a U.S.-declared “safe
'en,” lifting trade and travel
tiers that had stood since the
fWar.
addam’s Kurdish allies flaunt-
their new authority over this
theastern city, parading
ough the streets and looting
headquarters of their van-
shed rivals for trophies — even
et seats and light bulbs.
Fens of thousands of Kurds fled
aymaniyah for the rugged hills
earby Iran after the Baghdad-
:ked Kurdistan Democratic
ty rolled into the city on
nday night.
U.N. officials estimated up to
3 Kurds might have left, but
jiy refugees started returning
Coukj inir&lM 116 Tuesday, by truck and taxi
(Siinsg i on foot, reassured by news
Didn'tintofejit Saddam’s troops had not
ered the city.
Saddam sought to discourage
exodus, declaring a general
nesty for all Kurds and lifting
vel and trade restrictions
ween Iraq and the northern
ai-autonomous Kurdish areas
g job discrimimlposed at the end of the 1991
ights groups, how
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omosexuals.
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ould offend consei
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sian Gulf War.
The full ramifications of the
rouncement were not immedi-
ly clear. But Saddam and his
rdish allies clearly had effec-
ly eliminated the Kurdish "safe
yen” established by U.S.-led
ces five years ago.
A State Department
okesman ridiculed Saddam’s
inesty offer, saying past treach-
made the gesture “laughable,
nost comical.”
“He gave a pardon to his son-
law and then had him execut-
Nicholas Burns said in
the RepublicanW
eed to have the Set
parately on the
he House has vet to
for passage.
wo days of negotiatif sh i n g ton ’ “He tried to make up
th the Iraqi Kurds five years ago
id then tried to destroy them.”
The latest fighting in northern
aqbegan Aug. 31, when the Iraqi
army and the Kurdistan
Democratic Party teamed up to
capture Irbil, the de facto Kurdish
capital in the north.
U.S. missile strikes against
southern Iraq last week seemed to
deter the Iraqi army from taking
part in further fighting, although
Burns said Iraqi intelligence, mili
tary and security advisers appar
ently continued to aid the KDP.
With Iraqi forces marching
behind the KDR the faction has
easily defeated its Kurdish rival,
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
In addition to launching mis
siles against Iraqi military instal
lations, the U.S. and allied nations
expanded the no-fly zone in
southern Iraq.
Saddam retorted not only by
announcing he would no longer
honor the no-fly zones but also by
ordering his forces to shoot at U.S.
and allied aircraft.
Iraq claimed Tuesday it fired
three surface-to-air missiles at
allied aircraft over the no-fly zone,
but no hits were reported. It was
the fourth time in five days Iraq
has reported shooting at war
planes over the zone.
In Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi troops
were nowhere in sight Tuesday as
the KDP celebrated its sweeping
victory with an impromptu
parade. Fighters carrying AK-47
rifles rode through the streets in
pickup trucks decorated with yel
low flags and streamers. Women
and children dressed in yellow —
the party color — and merchants
hastily plastered photocopied pic
tures of KDP leader Massoud
Barzani on their store windows.
About 20 miles northeast of
Sulaymaniyah, KDP fighters loot
ed everything they could carry
from the headquarters of the
Iranian-allied PUK.
Soldiers and villagers towed
away air conditioners, wire, pipes
— even light bulbs. One old man
stumbled away with three fluores
cent light tubes, a large ceramic
urn and a toilet seat.
Iraq update
K
\ IRAN
100 miles
100 km
SAUDI ARABIA
KUWAIT
jk On Monday night, the Kurdistan Democratic Party rolled into Sulaymaniyah, the last
stronghold of its Kurdish rivals, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. As a result, Saddam
now has effective control over northern Iraq for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War.
0200,000 Kurdish refugees are massed at Iran's border. 75,000 more are heading for, or
are already at the Iraqi border town of Panjwin. Iran does not intend to let them in unless
their lives are in danger.
At the nearby two-story villa
of PUK leader Jalal Talabani,
looters filled trucks with furni
ture not completely destroyed in
a fire. KDP soldiers claimed
Talabani ordered the blaze set
when it was certain that the town
would be overrun.
The one object that survived
the fire unscathed was a large
sculpture in front of the villa in
the form of the PUK emblem: a
hand grasping a red flower.
At a nearby hilltop, KDP fight
ers picked through a hut, taking
blankets, kerosene lamps and
some bedding. “Wait a second,”
one said. He ran back and
unscrewed a light bulb.
The KDP also took artillery
shells and ammunition from the
blackened armory.
“It’s much better doing this
than having them shooting at
you,” said Hassan Abdul, an 18-
year-old KDP fighter, as he carried
a mortar shell above his head.
In Sulaymaniyah, only a few
leading PUK members chose to
remain.
“I don’t think we’re in any dan
ger, only Talabani and about 10
other important PUK members
are the ones whose lives are at
risk,” said Majid Haji Ahmed, a
senior member of the PUK coun
cil in Sulaymaniyah. “It’s better
than being a refugee.”
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Singing Cadets
Benefit Concert for
TOBY BOENIG,
former Student Body President
Wednesday, September 11, 1996
7 p.m.
Rudder Auditorium
Toby will be there so please come show your
support in his recovery efforts.
In Advance:
$5 for Students
$8 for Non-Students
At the Door:
$7 for Students
$10 for Non-Students
Tickets are available through the MSC Box Office
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