Iraqis drink dirty water from wells. Others comb hospitals searching for medicine. Civilians pose as soldiers and try to surrender, hoping US or British forces will feed them.
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in southern Iraq five days into the US-British invasion aimed at toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
The biggest grievance is lack of water, with supplies cut off by a thunderous ground and air assault in the south, home to Iraq's Shiite Muslims, many of whom are eager to see Saddam go.
"We need water. All we can do is dig for water in wells. It is water that even animals would not drink," said 30-year-old Muhammad Ali, who is unemployed.
The voices on the ground in this southern town, some 20km south of the major city of Basra, give weight to the crisis warnings from aid agencies and the UN.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for rapid action to help the people of Basra, home to some 2 million people and Iraq's second largest city, get adequate water supplies.
"I think urgent measures should be taken to restore electricity and water to that population," he said. "Apart from the water aspect, you can imagine what it does for sanitation."
Basra's main Wafa al-Qaed water treatment plant has been out of action due to a power outage since Friday. And while other plants can supply about 40 percent of usual needs, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva describes the situation as an emergency.
Near Zubayr, some civilians can be seen walking to the checkpoints set up by the invading forces. The civilians pretend to be Iraqi soldiers who want to surrender, a move to secure US military "meals-ready-to eat" and bottles of mineral water. But they are turned away after failing to present proper identification.
At one checkpoint, Iraqis with blankets and pots piled in the back of pick-up trucks streamed out of the town of al-Zubayr. They said armed members of the ruling Baath party were intimidating the civilians in the town which was why many were leaving.
"They took my three sons and executed them this morning behind the hospital in al-Zubayr," said Adil Sughayar, waving his hands in the air.
When Iraqis are not worrying about food and water supplies, they dread what could happen if Saddam survives the US and British military firepower.
The southern port city of Umm Qasr has been pounded by shells for days.
But according to at least some citizens it is the Baath Party members who have paralyzed the town with fear.
"The Americans think there are Republican Guards in the city. It's only 10 men with old rifles who are resisting," said Ali Mohammed, an army deserter.
"We would like to kill the 10 men but we are afraid that if the Americans don't win Saddam will slit our throats."
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
RSS