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1) 24 killed in Basra bombing: report 08:36 GMT, 28 January 1999 BAGHDAD, Jan 28 (AFP) -A total of 24 civilians died when American missiles hit the Basra region of southern Iraq, a weekly newspaper reported on Thursday. A missile which crashed into the town of Al-Jumhuriya, near Basra, left 18 dead and 59 wounded on Monday, Al-Zaura said. Seven houses were destroyed and 27 damaged the paper added. It repeated official figures that six died in a worker's village called Abu Flus, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Basra. ************* 2) From Elias Davidsson: Excerpts from a Press release by the White House Office of the Press Secretary dated Nov. 6, 1998 and entitled: Text of a letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (...) The Maritime Interception Forces The Maritime Interception Force (MIF), operating in accordance with [S.C.] Resolution 665 and other relevant resolutions, vigorously enforces U.N. sanctions in the Gulf. The U.S. Navy is the single largest component of this multinational force, but it is frequently augmented by ships, aircraft, and other support from Australia, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait, The Netherlands, New Zealand, the UAE , and the United Kingdom. Member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council also support the MIF by providing logistical support and shipriders and by accepting vessels diverted for violating U.N. sanctions against Iraq. The MIF continues to intercept vessels involved in illegal smuggling into and out of Iraq. In late August, the MIF conducted stepped-up operations in the far northern Gulf in the shallow waters near the major Iraqi waterways. These operations severely disrupted smuggling operations in the region. A new round of stepped up activity took place in mid-October. Since the beginning of the year, over 40 vessels have been detained for violations of the embargo and sent to ports in the Gulf for enforcement actions. Kuwait and the UAE, two countries adjacent to the smuggling routes, have also stepped up their own enforcement efforts and have intercepted and detained vessels involved in sanctions violations. Although refined petroleum products leaving Iraq comprise most of the prohibited traffic, the MIF has also intercepted a growing number of ships in smuggling prohibited goods into Iraq in violation of U.N. sanctions resolutions and the "oil-for-food" program. Ships involved in smuggling frequently utilize the territorial seas of Iran to avoid MIF patrols. In September, Iran closed the Shatt Al Arab waterway to smugglers and we observed the lowest level of illegal gasoil smuggling in 2 years. Iran apparently reopened the waterway in October. Detailed reports of these smuggling activities have been provided to the U.N. Sanctions Committee in New York. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Elias Davidsson - Post Box 1760 - 121 Reykjavik - Iceland Tel. (00354)-552-6444 Fax: (00354)-552-6579 Email: edavid@itn.is URL: http://www.nyherji.is/edavid ------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To be removed/added, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk, NOT the whole list. Archived at http://linux.clare.cam.ac.uk/~saw27/casi/discuss.html