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Foreign aircraft should avoid “no-fly zones”:US |
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November 5, 2000
WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. State Department said Friday that foreign aircraft flying into Iraq should avoid the "no-fly zones" in northern and southern Iraq because of "aggressive Iraqi activities" in these areas. Spokesman Richard Boucher said aircraft flying anywhere in Iraq could face danger but that the "no-fly zones" are a particular concern. "We caution that the areas of Iraq, south of 33 degrees north latitude, and north of 36 degrees north latitude, are areas of continuous military operations and present significant dangers to aircraft and passengers," Boucher said. In recent weeks, there has been an upsurge of flights into Iraq, many from Arab countries, delivering donated food and medical aid. Iraq has been under U.N.-imposed economic sanctions for the 10 years since it invaded Kuwait. There also have been a number of flights carrying people who want to show solidarity with Iraq in its opposition to the sanctions. U.N. rules require permission for foreign flights to land in Iraq but this obligation is sometimes ignored. The United States and allied countries barred Iraqi planes from flying in a large swath of northern Iraq in 1991 and set up a similar zone in southern Iraq in 1992. The people in these areas had risen up against the rule of President Saddam Hussein after his forces were defeated by a U.S.-led international coalition in 1991. The no-fly zones are enforced by British and American aircraft. Since December 1998, Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries have been firing on the intruding aircraft, prompting retaliatory strikes. Iraqi officials have complained that the strikes have claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent Iraqis.
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