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UK declare Basra military target
25/03/2003 10:09 - (SA)
Kuwait - British forces on Tuesday declared the southern town of Basra a military target after an Iraqi unit moved back into Iraq's second city with tanks, artillery and infantry, CNN quoted British officers saying.
Western warplanes dropped cluster bombs on the port of Basra overnight as intense ground fighting raged on in the city's outskirts, reported Arabic satellite channel Al-Jazeera.
Intense ground fighting between Iraq's sole significant deep-water port at Umm Qasr and the nearby town of Zubeir was reported on Monday night.
CNN reported on Tuesday that an Iraqi army division had engaged the British in about a dozen artillery exchanges in 24 hours: "This is not just a shift in strategy, but a difficult, high-risk operation," it quoted a military spokesperson as saying.
At central command in Doha, group captain Al Lockwood, the main British spokesperson said: "Basra we have surrounded. We're carefully assessing the level of resistance."
"When we have a clear plan that will minimise risks to civilian infrastructure, the civilians themselves and, of course, our own troops, then we'll execute it," he added.
'We are prepared for any eventuality'
"I think they're a very small number... of people who realise they have nothing left in the future of Iraq and they are prepared to fight.
"We hope they will have other thoughts and will surrender, but we are prepared for any eventuality."
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday it fears a humanitarian crisis in Basra, if adequate supplies of drinking water are not restored very soon.
A British military spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that British troops were probably going to go in to fight irregular guerrilla fighters who are resisting US-led invasion forces in Iraq's second city of Basra.
"We are meeting resistance from irregulars, members of the Fedayeen, who are extremely loyal to Saddam Hussein's regime," Group Captain Al Lockwood told CNN television. "They are terrorising the citizens of Basra and we will probably need to go in."
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday a specialist engineer had arrived in Basra to try to restore water supplies and avert a feared humanitarian crisis.
"Our water engineer went in last night and is working with local technicians," ICRC spokesperson Tamara al-Rifai said.
A major humanitarian crisis?
The main Wafa al-Qaed water treatment plant on the northern edge of Basra, scene of fierce fighting between British and US forces and Iraqi defenders, has been out of action since Friday because of a power outage.
The ICRC has said that although other plants were able to supply about 40% of usual needs, the quality of the water was poor.
Balthasar Staehelin, ICRC director-general of the Middle East and North Africa, said on Monday a major humanitarian crisis would occur in Basra without rapid restoration of water supplies.
Daytime temperatures in Basra, which has a population of about two million, can soar towards 40 degrees at this time of year. - Sapa-AFP/Reuters
- News24
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