Iraq Under Pressure

03/21/2003 The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq violates the basic rules of the United Nations Charter requiring countries to exhaust all peaceful means before taking military action, and which permits the use of force in self-defense only, two US legal groups said Thursday.

03/21/2003 Iraq has set fire to several oil wells in the southern part of the country following a 'scortched earth' policy that in the 1991 Gulf War saw ten million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf, causing the largest oil slick in the world.

03/21/2003 Leading aid agencies in the United Kingdom yesterday called for a new United Nations resolution to protect vulnerable Iraqis and to ensure enough relief supplies are available.

03/21/2003 The International Rescue Committee said today that US government regulations are throwing roadblocks in the path of US aid organizations trying to provide humanitarian assistance inside the borders of Iraq.

03/20/2003 The Gulf War has raised fresh fears of terrorist attacks in Kenya, already twice a victim of anti-U.S. bombings which have killed more than 200 people.

03/20/2003 The conduct of all warring parties in Iraq will be under unprecedented scrutiny and they should strictly adhere to the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said.

03/20/2003 A new report released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan cautioned that the United States-led attack on Iraq would fuel extremism and trigger a fresh spurt of extra-judicial killings in Pakistan, further eroding the rule of law, grossly undermined by the ongoing " war on terror."

03/20/2003 With the first shots fired over Baghdad, UN refugee agency chief Ruud Lubbers urged Iraq's neighbouring countries to keep their borders open to those in need of temporary protection and assistance.

03/19/2003 Major surveys of eight key European nations have shown a sharp rise in critical attitudes towards the United States, focused particularly on President George W. Bush's foreign policy.

03/19/2003 The British government has refused to rule out use of cluster bombs in an attack on Iraq, director of Amnesty International UK Kate Allen said yesterday.

03/19/2003 At least 10 million people in Iraq will need food aid within weeks of military action by the United States and its allies, according to the UN World Food Programme. The world's largest food aid organization says such an operation that would require massive donor support amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

03/19/2003 Military intervention in Iraq could divert resources and attention from humanitarian emergencies worldwide, warned leaders of international aid groups on Tuesday calling for more assistance for victims of famine in Ethiopia.

03/18/2003 United Nations staff will be withdrawn from Iraq after the Security Council failed to agree on actions to disarm the country, though the international body's involvement may continue, UN chief Kofi Annan has announced.

03/18/2003 Tuesday, 18 March, 2003 Tune in and surrender by Andy Sennitt, 18 March 2003 For months now, the psychological war in Iraq has been well under way. The United States has been broadcasting to Iraq on shortwave, mediumwave and FM since last December.

03/18/2003 With war seemingly only hours away, the son of President Saddam Hussein has issued an order decreeing that anyone smuggling information to opponents of the regime will face immediate execution.

03/18/2003 The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced it has received more than one-third of the US$60 million needed for its contingency plans in the region, where it has already pre-positioned relief supplies for nearly half of its working figure of 600,000 possible Iraqi refugees.

03/17/2003 The US capital saw its third massive protest against a possible war in Iraq on Saturday, even as participants struggled to remain optimistic in the face of a massive military build-up in the Persian Gulf.

03/17/2003 The question of who will finance the humanitarian side of the Iraq campaign is both uncertain and politically charged, reports Rhoda Metcalfe from Jordan.

03/16/2003 The prevailing uncertainty over Iraq will cast a heavy shadow over the 59th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which convenes this week and will run through April 25.

03/16/2003 Iraq?s practice of expelling Kurds, Turkomans, and Assyrians in the oil-rich regions of Kirkuk and turning their property over to Arab families from the south continues, according to Human Rights Watch.