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TFKUO1: REPORT FROM KUWAIT/IRAQ BORDER

Filename:96645948
PATHFINDER RECORD NUMBER: 45948
GENDATE:         950629
NNNN
TEXT:            
ENVELOPE CDSN = LGX578 MCN = 91075/34605 TOR = 910752331
PTTCZYUW RUEKJCS0310 0752331---RUEALGX.
ZNY 
HEADER P 162331Z MAR 91
FM JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUFGAID/USEUCOM AIDES VAIHINGEN GE
RUEKCCG/USDP-CCC WASHINGTON DC
RUEOFAA/COMJSOC FT BRAGG NC//J2//
RUCQVAB/USCINCSOC INTEL OPS CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUCJACC/USCENTCOM REAR MACDILL AFB FL //CARA//
RUEALGX/SAFE
P 162302Z MAR 91
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0335
RUEHWW/GULF WAR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0009
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHIPAAA/USCINCCENT PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC PRIORITY
BT
CONTROLS  SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 00310

FOR RP, AID/OFDA AND DOD/HA
ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR

/*********** THIS IS A COMBINED MESSAGE ************/
BODY TAGS: PHUM, PREF, AORC, EAID, PGOV, KU, IZ
SUBJECT: TFKUO1: REPORT FROM KUWAIT/IRAQ BORDER

REF: GENEVA 3269 (NOTAL)

1.  - ENTIRE TEXT.

2. THIS IS AN ACTION REQUEST.

3. SUMMARY:
- -------

ON 15 MARCH OFFICE OF FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE
TDYER JOE GETTIER ACCOMPANIED BY OFDA-CONTRACTED
EMERGENCY CONSULTANT FRED CUNY VISITED SAFWAN,
KUWAITI BORDER CHECKPOINT ON MAIN ROAD TO BASRA.
OFDA TEAM INTERVIEWED FOUR PERSONS WHO TOLD THEM
THAT THEY HAD BEEN DETAINED BY KUWAITI AUTHORITIES
AND THEN TRANSFERRED TO IRAQI SIDE OF THE BORDER.
GROUPS OF EGYPTIANS ENCOUNTERED DESCRIBED
CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ. THREE IRAQIS CLAIMED
TO HAVE WITNESSED POISON GAS ATTACKS. GETTIER AND
CUNY OBSERVED A KUWAITI BUS DEPOSIT A NUMBER OF
THIRD COUNTRY DETAINEES JUST OVER THE IRAQI
BORDER. ONE OF THE DEPORTEES, AN IRAQI, HAD BEEN
BADLY TORTURED ALLEGEDLY BY KUWAITI ARMY
PERSONNEL. PHOTOGRAPHER WHO HAPPENED BY
PHOTOGRAPHED WOUNDS. ICRC DELEGATES ON THE SCENE
WERE BRIEFED BY OFDA ON TEAM'S OBSERVATIONS.
DEPARTMENT PLEASE NOTE ACTION REQUEST. END SUMMARY.
4. KUWAITI BORDER CAMP -- 1,000 PERSONS
- ------------------------------------

APPROXIMATELY 1,000 PERSONS OF VARYING
NATIONALITIES HAVE SOUGHT REFUGE AND ASSISTANCE AT
THIS SITE LOCATED ABOUT ONE KILOMETER SOUTH OF THE
KUWAIT-IRAQI BORDER ON THE BASRA ROAD. CAMP
CONDITIONS ARE CRAMPED, DISORGANIZED AND FILTHY. A
23-PERSON VOLUNTEER GROUP HEADED BY A FOURTH-YEAR
MEDICAL STUDENT HEADS UP THE KUWAITI RED CRESCENT
(KRC) CONTINGENT, WHICH IS AT LEAST NOMINALLY IN
CHARGE OF RELIEF ACTIVITIES. A THREE-PHYSICIAN
KUWAITI ARMY TEAM IS ALSO POSTED THERE TO ASSIST
ANY KUWAITI NATIONALS WHO MAY FIND THEIR WAY FROM
IRAQ. A PLATOON-SIZED SECURITY ELEMENT MANS THE
KUWAITI ARMY CHECKPOINT.

5. AS MANY AS 14 NATIONALITIES HAVE BEEN FOUND AT
THE BORDER POINT ON ANY GIVEN DAY. ALL SEEK FOOD,
WATER AND ASSISTANCE IN MOVING ON. NON-KUWAITIS
ARE GIVEN ONE U.S. MILITARY MRE RATION TO SHARE -
TWO TO A RATION - PER DAY. EACH PERSON RECEIVED A
LITER OF WATER. WOMEN WITH CHILDREN ARE GIVEN MILK
AND BISCUITS. ALL DISTRIBUTIONS ARE MADE BY THE
KRC.

6. THERE ARE NO PROVISIONS WHATSOEVER FOR
SANITATION IN THE CAMP, DESPITE SIX CONFIRMED
REPORTS OF CHOLERA DETECTED AMONG KUWAITS
HOSPITALIZED IN KUWAIT CITY AFTER BEING RELEASED
FROM SOUTHERN IRAQ. THE CONDITION OF CAMP
INHABITANTS WHO WILL NOT OR CANNOT MOVE BACK INTO
IRAQ OR FURTHER INTO KUWAIT FOR LACK OF A PLACE TO
GO OR ADEQUATE DOCUMENTATION IS ALMOST CERTAIN TO
DECLINE WITH THE CURRENT ONSET OF WARM WEATHER.

7. SENIOR GOK OFFICIALS HAVE INFORMED KRC THAT THE
SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF DISPLACED PERSONS FROM
IRAQ, TCN'S CONGREGATING IN HOPES OF FINDING THEIR
WAY BACK TO RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES AND BIDOONS,
SQUATTERS (UNDOCUMENTED ALIENS WHO CLAIM KUWAIT
RESIDENCE), IS TO MOVE THE CAMP TO THE NO-MAN'S
LAND BETWEEN THE IRAQI AND KUWAITI CHECKPOINTS.
RESIDENTS WOULD THEN, ACCORDING TO THE KRC, BECOME
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OCCUPYING POWER IN
SOUTHERN IRAQ, CURRENTLY THE U.S. FIRST INFANTRY
DIVISION.

8. DEPORTEES IN SOUTHERN IRAQ REPORT MISTREATMENT
- ----------------------------------------------

OFDA TEAM INTERVIEWED FIVE PERSONS -- TWO YEMENIS,
TWO PALESTINIANS AND ONE SUDANESE WHO CLAIMED TO
HAVE BEEN DETAINED BY KUWAITI MILITARY AFTER HAVING

/****** BEGINNING OF SECTION 002 ******/
BEEN ARRESTED AT CHECKPOINTS IN KUWAIT CITY FOR
LACK OF PROPER DOCUMENTATION. ALL CLAIMED TO HAVE
BEEN MISTREATED. THE SUDANESE SAID THAT A
COMPATRIOT WAS SLAIN BY KUWAITI MILITARY GUARDS
WHILE IN CUSTODY. DETAINEES SAID THEY WERE
TRANSPORTED TO A POINT JUST OVER THE IRAQI BORDER
AT SAFWAN 10 TO 14 DAYS AFTER BEING ARRESTED, AND
MADE THEIR WAY BACK TO THE CAMP. THERE THEY SAID
THEY WERE DUMPED BY THE ROADSIDE WITHOUT FOOD,
MEDICINE, WATER, MONEY OR DOCUMENTS, TO MAKE THEIR
WAY HOME AS BEST THEY COULD.

9. AT 1300 HOURS ON 15 MARCH GETTIER AND CUNY
NOTED A WHITE PRISON BUS MAKING ITS WAY NORTH
THROUGH KUWAIT TOWARDS THE IRAQI BORDER. AFTER A
STOP AT THE SAFWAN KRC CAMP, THE BUS PROCEEDED
NORTH TO A POINT JUST OVER THE BORDER WHERE 13
EGYPTIAN, SUDANESE, IRAQI AND PALESTINIAN DETAINEES
WERE KICKED AND PRODDED OFF THE BUS BY FOUR
APPARENT KUWAITI ARMY GUARDS. THEY WERE LEFT IN
THE DESERTED IRAQI BORDER TOWN TOTALLY BEREFT OF
RESOURCES TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES AS BEST THEY
COULD. ONE MAN, A 31-YEAR-OLD IRAQI CIVILIAN NAMED
KHADDAM LAHOUT MADLOOL HAD BEEN SEVERELY BEATEN.
HIS BACK AND LEGS WERE A SOLID BLACK AND BLUE
WELT. OFDA AND NEWSWEEK REPORTER ALAN TANENBAUM
PHOTOGRAPHED THE WOUNDS. MADLOOL HAD ENTERED
KUWAIT TO SELL VEGETABLES ON FEBRUARY 24. HE WAS
ARRESTED ON 5 MARCH BY KUWAITI ARMY FORCES. HE
COUNTED HIMSELF FORTUNATE TO BE ALIVE AND ABLE TO
WALK AS HE HOBBLED HIS WAY NORTH TOWARDS BASRA.
THE BUS RETURNED TO THE KRC CAMP AT SAFWAN WHERE
LOCALS SAID IT IS BASED. OFDA REPORTED THE
INCIDENT TO ICRC DELEGATES WHO WERE PRESENT IN THE
SAFWAN CAMP.

10. CONDITIONS IN SOUTHERN IRAQ
-- ---------------------------

OFDA TEAM NOTED A GROWING STREAM OF REFUGEES
FLEEING DOWN THE HIGHWAY TOWARDS KUWAIT FROM BASRA
AND OTHER SOUTHERN IRAQI CITIES. FLOW IS LARGELY
COMPROSED OF SINGLE MALES BUT MANY WOMEN AND
CHILDREN CAN BE SEEN AMONG THEM. REFUGEES ARE
FLEEING ON FOOT, CARRYING THEIR BURDENS ON THEIR
HEADS. ONE ELDERLY MAN PUSHED HIS BUNDLE ALONG ON
AN OFFICE SWIVEL CHAIR. ALL APPEALED FOR WATER
WHEN WE STOPPED TO TALK TO THEM.

11. ON THE IRAQI SIDE OF SAFWAN LESS THAN 10
PERCENT OF THE TOWN'S 20,000 RESIDENTS REMAIN.
THERE IS LITTLE FOOD AND NO MUNICIPAL WATER. WATER
COULD BE EASILY RESTORED, HOWEVER, BY REPAIRING AND
MAINTAINING THE WATER PUMP FOR THE ELEVATED WATER
STORAGE TANK. WELL-FED SYSTEMS COULD SERVE TO
PROVIDE WATER TO REFUGEES.

12. REFUGEES RETURNING FROM SAMAWA, NASSERIYA,
ZUBAYR AND BASRA REPORT CHAOS, IMPENDING FAMINE AND
A NEARLY COMPLETE COLLAPSE OF BASIC SERVICES IN
THESE AREAS. MOST INTERVIEWED WERE EGYPTIANS
MAKING THEIR WAY TO KUWAIT IN HOPES THEIR
GOVERNMENT WILL TRANSPORT THEM HOME. FLEEING
IRAQIS, THEY SAID, ARE MOVING TOWARDS IRAN.

13. REPORTS OF CW ATTACKS
-- ---------------------

THREE IRAQIS INTERVIEWED IN SAFWAN CLAIMED THAT
THEY HAD WITNESSED CHEMICAL ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS BY
IRAQI MILITARY FORCES. IN AN INTERVIEW CONDUCTED
BY GUARDIAN (UK) REPORTER LINDA EVANS IRAQI ARMY
VETERANS KHALID ABU ALI AND MOHAMMED ABUDULLA SAID
THAT IRAQI REPUBLICAN GUARD TANKS FIRED CHEMICAL
ROUNDS (FROM THEIR MAIN GUNS) INTO CROWDS IN THE
HAYANIYA AND JUMHURIYA SECTIONS OF BASRA.
INCIDENTS ALLEGEDLY TOOK PLACE ON MARCH 8.
INFORMANTS CLAIMED THAT UP TO 1,000 DEAD AND
WOUNDED RESULTED FROM THE WHITE CLOUD OF CHEMICAL

/****** BEGINNING OF SECTION 003 ******/
AGENT THEY IDENTIFIED AS "KHARDL." EVANS ALSO
TALKED TO AN IRAQI ENGINEER WHO IDENTIFIED HIMSELF
ONLY AS ABBAS. ABBAS SAID THAT ON MARCH 9, IN
NASSERIA, AN IRAQI AIR FORCE ALOUETTE HELICOPTER
DEPLOYED A BLUE COLORED CHEMICAL AGENT ON A CROWD
OF CIVILIANS CAUSING THE DEATHS OF HUNDREDS.

14. U.S. MILITARY
-- -------------

OFDA TALKED TO TWO U.S. FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION LT.
COLONELS ON BORDER. NEITHER HAD KNOWLEDGE OF THE
DUMPING OF DETAINEES. FIRST DIVISION PHYSICIANS AT
BRIGADE AID STATION DID ACKNOWLEDGE TREATING AN
UNCONSCIOUS 30-YEAR-OLD MALE BROUGHT TO THEIR
FACILITY. THE MAN HAD BEEN TORTURED, HIS TEETH HAD
BEEN BATTERED OUT AND HE SUFFERED FROM MASSIVE
LACERATIONS AND INTERNAL INJURIES. ARMY MEDICS
STABILIZED THE CASE AND EVACUATED HIM TO THE 12TH
EVAC HOSPITAL.

15. ARMY MEDICS IN THE BORDER AREA TREAT UP TO 20
SEVERELY ILL OR WOUNDED RUFUGEES AND LOCAL IRAQIS
PER DAY. MOST OF THE INJURIES STEM FROM THE
PRESENCE OF HIGH QUANTITIES OF UNEXPLODED ORDINANCE
IN THE AREA. ILLNESSES ARE USUALLY ACUTELY
DEHYDRATED CHILDREN SUFFERING FROM DIARHEA.

16. COMMENT: NEITHER THE IRAQI NOR KUWAITI
GOVERNMENTS ARE IN A POSITION TO PROVIDE NEEDED
CARE FOR THE GROWING NUMBERS OF DISPLACED PERSONS
IN THE SOUTHERN IRAQ/NORTHERN KUWAIT AREA. THE
ICRC IS EXTREMELY UNDERSTAFFED AND IS DOING LITTLE
EXCEPT VISIT THE AREA AND ASK US TO DO MORE. THE
U.S. HAS AN OBLIGATION TO HELP IN AREAS IT
OCCUPIES, AND IS DOING SO -- AS NOTED ABOVE, THE
U.S. ARMY IS ALREADY PROVIDING FOOD, WATER AND
MEDICAL CARE. WHILE U.S. FORCES REMAIN IN SOUTHERN
IRAQ, WE WILL HAVE A CONTINUING OBLIGATION TO HELP,
BUT WE NEED TO BE BETTER ORGANIZED TO DO THIS --
ACTION REQUESTS FOLLOW IN THIS REGARD. AT THE SAME
TIME, WE SHOULD PUSH THE ICRC, U.N. AGENCIES, AND
INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS TO DO MORE TO
HELP, SO THAT AN ORDERLY HANDOFF CAN BE MADE FROM
U.S. TO U.N./INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES IF/WHEN U.S.
FORCES WITHDRAW FROM THE AREA AND A U.N. OR
MULTINATIONAL FORCE STEP IN. END COMMENT.

17. REFTEL REPORTS INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF
MIGRATION'S REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE IN SENDING TEAM
TO ASSIST IN REPATRIATION OF TCN'S STRANDED AT THE
BORDER. POST WILL FOLLOW UP TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
REQUESTED.

18. ACTION REQUEST:

REQUEST DEPARTMENT CONTACT DOD/HA'S OFFICE OF
GLOBAL AFFAIRS (DAS WALTHIUS) TO COORDINATE
DISPATCH OF TEAM TO EVALUATE RESPONSIBILITIES AND
RECOMMEND RELIEF RESPONSES BY U.S. FORCES IN
IRAQ-KUWAIT BORDER AREA. EMBASSY IS CONSTANTLY
ADVISED BY ICRC THAT FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION CALLS
FOR PROVISION OF BASIC FOOD, WATER, AND MEDICAL
TREATMENT BY OCCUPYING MILITARY POWER, IN THE CASE,
U.S. ARMY'S 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION. THE ARMY IS
ALREADY HELPING OUT, BUT GIVEN BORDER SITUATION,
ORGANIZATION OF MORE LIFE-SAVING SERVICES MAY NOW
BE NEEDED. PLEASE ADVISE. END ACTION REQUEST.

19. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED.

GNEHM
ADMIN BT

#0310


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