US admits duty as occupation power in Iraq, calls for lifting sanctions
Iraq-USA, Politics, 5/10/2003

Amid increasing international concern regarding the deteriorated humanitarian condition in Iraq, one Iraqi citizen was killed yesterday by an American military patrol in Baghdad.

News reports quoted Khaled Mahdi who saw the incident saying that the American military vehicle pushed the car which was carrying Khaled Lahhoum ( 56 year old) towards the pavement and then the soldiers opened fire at him without reason, while a press photographer said he saw the man hit in the head fatally inside his car.

Meantime, the commander of the American land forces in Iraq, Gen. David Maccernan said that the American and British forces are the only authority in this country, adding that Iraq is now under a civilian and military authority and is going through an interim phase.

Meanwhile, the Commander of the American and British forces to Iraq Gen. Tommy Francs called on these forces to expect a difficult phase and ruled out a reduction for these forces for the time being. He explained that the existence of large number of American troops in Iraq is still necessary due to the chaos and unrest and the urgent need to restore back stability to this country.

While two American B 52 warplanes flew over the positions of Mujahedee Khalq movement, American military officials announced that the American forces in Iraq gave the movement a final grace period to dismantle its weapons or face an American attack and that the American forces are besieging the movement's positions to the north east of the capital Baghdad.

This, however, came after the Khalq movement relinquished all its inspection check points in Iraq to the American occupation forces, according to a prior ceasefire agreement, according to the American army officer John Miller who said that the Mujahedee Khalq who take Iraq as a headquarters kept only five camps for themselves guarded by tanks, artillery and armored vehicles near the Iranian borders.

On the other hand, the UN Security Council yesterday held a meeting for the first talks on a draft resolution proposed by the US to lift the Iraqi sanctions and giving the occupation forces the right to supervise the Iraqi economy for 12 months at least, including control of the oil revenues.

However, the current president of the UN Security Council, the Pakistani ambassador to the UN Munir Akram said that the council will not start its deliberations on this text before next week.

Within this context the US officially admitted duties it has to abide by and fulfill concerning the Geneva Convention Treaty in its being an occupation power in Iraq, according to a new formula of the draft resolution on Iraq which the US proposed yesterday at the UN Security Council.

News reports said that the new draft resolution calls on all sides concerned to abide by obligations necessitated by the international law especially the Geneva treaties of 1949, while the draft resolution distributed earlier on Thursday to the press did not include this article which seems as a sort of concession from Washington to the countries which opposed the American military interference in Iraq such as France and Russia.

Analysts explained that the draft resolution will gradually end the "oil for food" and will make the role of the UN and other UN organization merely consultative.

To this effect, the EU commissioner for development and humanitarian aids Paul Nelson said that the US and Britain intend to control the Iraqi oil through the draft resolution proposed to the UN Security Council.

He said that the USA does not want to give the UN a real and legitimate role in the process of rebuilding Iraq.

Concerning the deteriorated humanitarian condition in Iraq, American and international experts in the field of health and humanitarian aid expressed their concern over the obstruction of relief efforts in Iraq due to the process of these operations under the instruction of an American military leader.

An official at the international committee for salvation said that the Iraqi health system is almost collapsing, ruling out that any American military leaders to have the necessary experience to adapt to the humanitarian condition in Iraq after his contribution in the invasion led by his country against Iraq.

Previous Stories:
  Washington calls UN to lift sanctions on Iraq, asks for annual authorizations   (5/9/2003)
  Iraq resolution to come soon   (5/8/2003)
  Ambassador Paul Bremer Named Presidential Envoy to Iraq   (5/7/2003)

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