European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 a a the stars and stripes \ monday february 11,1991 War in the Gulf Kuwait City a View from inside by Edward Cody the Washington Post a saudi Arabia a Kuwait a exiled leadership said it has received reports that iraqi occupation forces in Kuwait battered and enraged by constant bombing have stepped up civilian executions and begun robbing families at gunpoint for food since the Allied air Campaign was launched Jan. 17. It there is no Way to independently confirm such accounts. In a glimpse at life for kuwaiti civilians since the War began officials at exile Headquarters Here painted a picture of Kuwait City suffering under the Allied bomb ing onslaught a subject avoided by . Military offi a a a a a a a a vials. A a Quot a a a. A the kuwaiti officials said several hospitals have filled up with wounded iraqi soldiers and occasional kuwaiti bombing victims. Electricity and water have started to go out sporadically while kuwaitis resort to bicycles to get around the City because of gasoline shortages. Exiled kuwaiti detente minister Nawaf Ahmed Sabah said kuwaiti civilians heartened by the Prospect of liberation now that the War has started have begun increasingly to contest orders from iraqi soldiers controlling the City. As a result the kuwaitis shot in Street executions has climbed steeply after a decline in the final months of last year he said. Kuwait a exiled leadership which talks irregularly by satellite Telephone with civilians inside the country has received More reports of kuwaitis being shot execution style during just the last week or so than during the preceding couple of months according to a Diplomat close to Emir Jabir Ahmed Sabah a ruling family. Al though increased Defiance is a Factor he explained the Rise in executions has been Laid principally to hardening and anger among iraqi troops As a result of the . And Allied bombing that is killing and wounding fellow Lra is. A a a a you would think they would be too Busy with the War a complained planning minister Suleiman Mutawa. Nawaf said iraqi soldiers holding up kuwaiti households for food do not appear to be part of an organized citywide sweep for provisions. Rather he explained re no matter what has happened with respect to repression torture and wartime conditions the fact is that they Are witnessing the beginning of the liberation of their country a exiled kuwaiti defense minister a Nawaf Ahmed Sabah ports from Kuwait City depict individual iraqi units or Small groups of soldiers knocking Down locked doors and brandishing Standard Issue ak-47 assault rifles forcing kuwaitis to turn Over their food stores. There have been no reports of generalized food shortages among kuwaiti civilians officials Here said. Nawaf said Many families built up Large stocks during the first Days after the iraqi takeover aug. 2. In addition most neighbourhood cooperative stores still have supplies and Are open for. Two or three hours in the morning he said. In any Case whatever food and other supplies Are transported from Iraq into Kuwait go directly to the estimated Haff million iraqi soldiers there the Diplomat said. Convoys7 seeking to bring in such supplies have been prime targets for . And Allied bombers pounding Iraq and Kuwait for the last three weeks. The reports reaching Here of iraqi units robbing kuwaiti families of food seemed to expand on information relayed by . And saudi officials citing iraqi prisoners of War that front line troops in Kuwait often Nave had their rations reduced to one meal a Day As a result of the bombing. The troops guarding Kuwait City had been described As better supplied and fed than popular army conscripts assigned to the Forward most Border positions from which most defectors have come. Almost All the 200,000 to 250,000 kuwaitis remaining in the country have stayed in Kuwait City the Gulf Side capital that is Kuwait a Only major population Center. Most of the pre invasion kuwaiti population of 600,000 Alst Rived there along with the 1.6 million foreign workers f to resided in Kuwait Ceoffe the iraqi takeover. Away the Emir a brother said Allied bombers have targeted strategic installations in and around Kuwait cites these include missile batteries artillery emplacements and command or communications centers for iraqis army he said. A of course there Are technical and strategic positions in Kuwait City that have been chosen by the joint forces and they Are bombed a he said in an interview. Some schools and Community centers in Kuwait City have been commandeered As iraqi military offices he reported. . Military officers have said Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf the Allied commander has refrained so far from bombing such targets but that this May become necessary. Similarly Allied bombing has not yet been directed at key kuwaiti government buildings or Large downtown hotels being used by iraqi officers in their 6-month-old occupation of the country Nawaf kuwaitis who resisted the iraqi occupation last fall by sniping at patrols and setting iraqi vehicles afire have largely ceased their activities the defense minister acknowledged. But he said Many kuwaitis have secreted weapons in caches and Are Likely to renew resistance attacks As the ground Battle begins already the bombing has raised morale he claimed. A no matter what has happened with respect to repression torture and wartime conditions the fact is that they Are witnessing the beginning of the liberation of their country a he said. Most resistance was staged by Small groups related by family school or neighbourhood ties the Diplomat pointed out. As a result there have been no reports of a unified resistance network or command. Close Calls with my 6s prompt for Vii corps soldiers by the stars and stripes saudi Arabia Vii corps is taking measures in the Wake of several accidental discharges of m-16s and incidents where soldiers nearly shot their colleagues. \ last week the commander of the 3rd. Army div maj. Gen. Paul Funk prohibited soldiers from loading their weapons unless they Are guarding a military Encampment. He also ordered All soldiers in the division to attend classes Ori handling their weapons. A the word is that we will not lock and Load until Contact with the enemy is imminent a said Mel Kelder 35, of Killeen Texas a civilian who serves As the divisions safety manager a in the area where -wttet>eated-now7 we re not in danger the , measures were prompted by several accidental Rifle discharges in vi1 corps units deployed in the Northern desert. In one week after the Aerial offensive began there were four or five incidents involving soldiers attached to the corps Kelder said. A several other incidents have occurred in the past month in which soldiers nearly shot their comrades. A at Vii corps Headquarters soldiers on guard duty during the Early morning hours nearly shot two military police operating a vehicle without lights after they crashed through an earthen berm and entered the compound. A a tank Driver w to stepped outside the barbed wire enclosure to relieve himself in the Middle of the night was almost fired on by nervous guards. That prompted a colonel in the unit to order that no Soldier with a. Rank lieutenant colonel could carry a loaded weapon. A a a Soldier on guard duty at a military facility in Eastern saudi Arabia said an army Captain pointed a gun in his direction As he cleared the chamber. The event occurred after the Soldier asked the officer to Check his weapon for live rounds. A a military policeman guarding a facility in Eastern saudi Arabia squeezed off two rounds shortly before the War began sending soldiers scrambling for cover. A we thought the War had started a said Kelder who was there at the time. A it Gem Frederick m. Franks jr., Vii corps commander wrote several letters expressing concern to division commanders. Kelder said the general thought the incidents w Ere unacceptable. A somewhere Altig the Chain of command we be let that Soldier Down a Kelder said in repeating the general a concern. A if its a training problem he wants to get to the Bottom of it and keep it from happening the classes in the 3rd army div focus on cleaning and Clearing the Chambers of a 6 rifles As Well As handling ammunition. Quot we were trying to impress on these Young kids that we need to be careful that we need to be paying attention to what we do a Kelder said. Information for this article was gathered by reporters in the Pentagon Media Pool _ patriotic joggers . Soldiers stationed in Central Israel run past a Patriot missile launcher during morning exercises sunday. The troops a nerf a. It Issue launcher auning defend Israel gains Send its silk a Acks by Iraq sttrfccm0-,r a a
