AL delegate to Kuwait over an Arab mechanism to settle prisoners issue

Kuwaiti Defense Minister Sheikh Salem al-Sabah, the official in charge of the Kuwaiti prisoners file, said that Baghdad has not informed the AL yet about the existence of those prisoners in the Iraqi jails.

The Kuwaiti defense minister told one journalist on Tuesday night after his talks with AL delegate Hussein Hassounah that Kuwait explained to the delegate "the full picture of this humanitarian issue."

During his visit to Kuwait, Hassounah met with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad and members of the "national committee for the missing and prisoners affairs," chaired by Sheikh Salem.

Contrary to a Kuwaiti paper report, Hassounah negated press news stating that Baghdad has conceded that it has 300 Kuwaiti captives detained in Iraq.

Since 1991, the said committee has sought to learn about the fate of more than 600 Kuwaiti detainees and missing in Iraq. Hassounah indicated the establishment of an Arab mechanism, very shortly, to settle the question of the prisoners in the context of the UN Security Council, its relevant resolutions and within Geneva agreements frameworks.

Hassounha added that freeing the prisoners will be "an important step to purify the atmospheres and restore Arab solidarity."