Shockwave
S
Shockwave
First human shields to arrive in Iraq
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq says it will soon receive the first batch of Arab and European volunteers ready to act as human shields in case the United States launches a military attack. "We are in the process of receiving the first group of volunteers who like to act as human shields," the secretary-general of the Iraq-based Arab Popular Forces Conference, Saad Qasim Hammoudi, told Reuters. "These people will be distributed to vital and strategic installations in all Iraqi governorates," Hammoudi, who is also a senior member of the ruling Baath Party, said on Monday. "We are expecting volunteers even from the United States and European countries," he added. "This is a practical Arab and international reaction to the hostile buildup of troops in the Gulf and neighbouring countries." The United States is forging ahead with a military build-up that could place more than 100,000 troops in the Gulf region in coming weeks. Washington has said Iraq is in "material breach" of a U.N. resolution ordering it to declare its weapons of mass destruction, and says it will take military action unless Iraq disarms. Last time Iraq used people as human shields was in December 1998 when Washington and London launched an extensive air and missile bombing campaign for Iraq's alleged failure to cooperate with U.N. arms experts. Hundreds of Iraqi volunteers were used as human shields in a number of presidential palaces scattered in Baghdad and other main Iraqi cities.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq says it will soon receive the first batch of Arab and European volunteers ready to act as human shields in case the United States launches a military attack. "We are in the process of receiving the first group of volunteers who like to act as human shields," the secretary-general of the Iraq-based Arab Popular Forces Conference, Saad Qasim Hammoudi, told Reuters. "These people will be distributed to vital and strategic installations in all Iraqi governorates," Hammoudi, who is also a senior member of the ruling Baath Party, said on Monday. "We are expecting volunteers even from the United States and European countries," he added. "This is a practical Arab and international reaction to the hostile buildup of troops in the Gulf and neighbouring countries." The United States is forging ahead with a military build-up that could place more than 100,000 troops in the Gulf region in coming weeks. Washington has said Iraq is in "material breach" of a U.N. resolution ordering it to declare its weapons of mass destruction, and says it will take military action unless Iraq disarms. Last time Iraq used people as human shields was in December 1998 when Washington and London launched an extensive air and missile bombing campaign for Iraq's alleged failure to cooperate with U.N. arms experts. Hundreds of Iraqi volunteers were used as human shields in a number of presidential palaces scattered in Baghdad and other main Iraqi cities.