Iraq accuses US forces of seizing a ship transporting foodstuffs

Iraq has accused the US forces stationed in the Gulf waters of seizing a ship carrying foodstuffs for Iraq, according to the oil-for-food agreement.

A statement by an Iraqi official source at the Ministry of Trade said on Wednesday that the US forces have been holding the ship Haibi 2 since December 19 in the inspection zone after these forces prevented the ship from sailing to the Iraqi port of Um Qaser, southern Iraq, which overlooks the Gulf.

The Iraqi paper reported that the ship was loaded with 14,538 tons of Vietnamese rice imported according to the oil-for-food agreement.

The Iraqi source indicated that it is not the first time the US naval forces have seized ships carrying foodstuffs imported by Iraq.

The sources described this behavior as reflecting the attitude of the US administration towards the people of Iraq and its attempt to perpetuate the sanctions and increase the sufferings of the Iraqi people.

However, a UN monitoring force including the US Fifth Fleet have been enforcing the multifaceted embargo imposed on Iraq since 1990 in the Gulf waters, and the ships are subjected to inspection operations.

Baghdad has repeatedly accused this force of intercepting the ships sailing for Iraq, while, for its part, the US Navy announces regular inspections of ships carrying Iraqi commodities abroad.

Since 1996, the UN has been permitting Iraq, according to the oil-for-food agreement to sell limited amounts of oil every six months for buying foodstuffs under strong control of the UN, but it bans Iraq's exports.