Iraq claims US, British uranium weapons to have caused deaths in the country

Iraq has asserted that weapons which contain uranium, and were used by the US and Britain against Iraq caused deaths, grave diseases and birth defects in the country.

In a message sent to the Arab League on Monday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf said that studies carried out by the Iraqi medical teams as well as similar studies conducted by international teams revealed the uranium stays in the soil, water and the air for many generations, a matter which is damaging and very harmful to health for a long period of time.

Al-Sahaf asserted in his message that the US and Britain's use of these weapons show the extent of the two countries' violations of human rights. Al-Sahaf held both the countries morally, legally and humanitarianly responsible for using this weapons.

He stressed Iraq's legal right to ask for fair compensation for the damages caused by these weapons in inflicting great damages against people, institutions and the environment in Iraq.

Al-Sahaf asked the AL chief to circulate this message among the AL member states as well as to circulate the accompanying map and the sites where uranium shells were detonated.

Al-Sahaf added that the US and British forces launched more than one million uranium-treated shells, whose weight totalled 315 tonnes in large areas of the country, adding that it is the first time that such a poisonous metal has been used in war.