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Iraq calls up teenagers amid tension with Iran

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, May 25, 2000

LONDON -- Iraq has continued mobilization of reserve units as well as training teenagers amid heightened tension with Iran, according to Middle East Newsline.

The tension is said to be the highest since the end of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Both countries have accused the other of supporting insurgencies.

At the same time, Baghdad has been concerned by repeated Iranian military exercises along the border with Iraq.

Iraqi authorities are training an estimated 500,000 children, ages 12-17, in military camps. The training is part of a reserve callup in response to growing military tension with Iran in the area of Basra in the south. Iran is currently conducting exercises in the area.

On late Tuesday, Iran released 460 Iraqi prisoners and they returned to their native country. The International Committee of the Red Cross said that since April Iran freed nearly 3,000 Iraqi prisoners of war.

In addition, President Saddam Hussein has ordered the modernization of anti-air defenses to stop patrols by Allied planes in southern and northern Iraq. Officials said improved air defenses have already resulted in a decrease in the number of Allied missions and that British and U.S. planes are flying higher to avoid Iraqi missiles.

On Tuesday, Iraq said it chased away U.S. and British warplanes with missile and artillery fire. "Missile and anti-aircraft batteries repulsed enemy fighter planes while they were attacking civilian installations in Dohuk, Erbil and Nineveh provinces," the official Iraqi News Agency said.

Tension has also arisen in southern Iraq. Visitors from Iraq report that Iraqi military forces fired upon Shi'ite visitors from Najaf who tried to enter Karbala. The Shi'ites on Sunday refused an order to turn back to Najaf, saying they wanted to celebrate the Shi'ite holiday. The two cities are 70 kilometers from each other.

Karbala is regarded as a focal point of a Shi'ite insurgency against President Saddam Hussein in an operation financed by Iran. Nearby, Iran has been holding a large military exercise, which included a mock chemical weapons attack. Iraq used chemical weapons in its war with Iran.

In a related development, Iraqi newspapers said Baghdad has opened the Arour crossing with Saudi Arabia. It was the first time the two countries opened their border since the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The border will be meant largely for trade.

Thursday, May 25, 2000


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