IRAQ/SWITZERLAND: REFUGEES FLEE AFTER THE FALL OF SULAIMANIYA /BAGHDAD RESIDENTS SELL FURNITURE TO PAY FOR GOODS

Record ID: 275062

  • Title: IRAQ/SWITZERLAND: REFUGEES FLEE AFTER THE FALL OF SULAIMANIYA /BAGHDAD RESIDENTS SELL FURNITURE TO PAY FOR GOODS
  • Date: 9th September 1996
  • Summary: KANI OSMAN, DUKAN, AND HEIBET SULTAN, NORTHERN IRAQ/ BAGHDAD, IRAQ/ GENEVA SWITZERLAND (SEPTEMBER 9 AND 10, 1996)(RTV - ACCESS ALL) KANI OSMAN, DUKAN, NORTHERN IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 9, 1996) 1.LV HALTED KURDISTAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY (KDP) CONVOY ON ROAD EADING TO DUKAN 0.04 2.SLV KDP FIGHTER FIRING HEAVY MACHINE GUN ACROSS VALLEY
  • Embargoed: 24th September 1996 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: KANI OSMAN, DUKAN, AND HEIBET SULTAN, NORTHERN IRAQ/ BAGHDAD, IRAQ/ GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • City:
  • Country: EUROPE ASIA Iraq MIDDLE EAST Switzerland
  • Reuters ID: LVA80RCAWEAG3G0LNZ1YNBF0AD7Z
  • Story Text: INTRO: The United Nations has agreed to help Iran deal with a potential flood of Kurdish refugees fleeing from factionalfighting in northern Iraq.

    __________________________________________________________________ Hundreds of thousands of residents of Sulaimaniya fled when Iraq's biggest Kurdish city fell on Monday (September 9) to the Baghdad-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) guerrillas.

    Sulaymaniya was the third Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) stronghold to fall to the KDP after Soy Sanjaq and Degala.

    The KDP has now sealed its grip on all three Kurdish provinces of Iraq, which were set up by Western allies in 1991 as safe haven for Kurds from Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's forces, nine days after they took Arbil from the rival PUK, in turn supported by Iran.

    According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) most of Sulaymaniya's population appears to have gone to neighbouring villages or countryside. But many were moving to the Iranian border where there had been angry scenes with some refugees throwing stones at Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) vehicles.

    UNHCR spokesman Rupert Colville in Geneva said following positive talks with senior diplomats in Geneva and Tehran, the United Nations has received assurances from Iran that the fleeing Kurds could cross the border into Iran.

    Iran sought international aid for what it said were nearly 200,000 refugees amassing on its borders and warned of a human tragedy. However it was not obvious the refugees had any intention of crossing over into Iran.

    "Yesterday they were not crossing, and whether or not they cross en masse remains to be seen," Colville said.

    Baghdad on Tuesday gloated over the KDP's military victory saying its triumph over a rival group was the worst setback for the United States since Vietnam.

    It also attacked U.S. President Bill Clinton's policy on Iraq, saying it had brought Washington nothing but "humiliation, shame and disgrace".

    On Tuesday, Saddam Hussein removed an embargo on the region and allowed movement of people and trade to and from Kurdish areas. He also issued a general amnesty to Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq.

    In Baghdad, Iraqis have been forced to sell their furniture because they cannot afford the high prices in the capital.

    Prices in Iraq have increased as goods become more scarce as a result of U.N.-imposed sanctions against the country.


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