Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=03/28/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=IRAQ WRAP (L-2ND UPDATE)

NUMBER=2-301473

BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

CONTENT=

///EDS: The next wrap due around 9:30 p-m ///

INTRO: U-S-led forces are stepping up their bombardment of Baghdad, targeting key government installations in the center of the Iraqi capital. Meanwhile, U-S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Iraqi neighbor Syria of allowing weapons shipments into Iraq. VOA's Stephanie Ho reports from Washington.

TEXT: Coalition forces engaged in heavy fighting with Iraqi troops in Nasiriya. U-S Apache helicopters were reported attacking Republican Guard positions southwest of Baghdad.

British troops outside of Basra say Iraqi units fired on hundreds of civilians who were trying to flee the besieged southern city.

In the north, heavy explosions were reported in the city of Mosul. In central Iraq, fighting was reported near Diwaniyah and Najaf.

V-O-A's Alisha Ryu, who is with U-S forces in central Iraq, says Iraqi militia groups, known as the Fedayeen, are proving tougher than expected.

/// RYU ACT ///

I think they (the soldiers) understand that this is not going to be a quick war, as a lot of people, perhaps, had hoped at the very beginning. Certainly, the harrassment by the Fedayeen and these militia groups has been a factor.

/// END ACT ///

Coalition forces dropped at least two so-called "bunker buster" bombs on a communications tower in Baghdad. Each bomb weighs more than two-thousand kilograms each. Coalition bombs also hit the Iraqi Information Ministry in central Baghdad early Saturday.

/// OPT /// U-S officials are looking into Iraqi reports that the intense coalition bombing of Baghdad killed 50 people in one of the city's marketplaces. /// END OPT ///

A large explosion rocked a major shopping mall in Kuwait early Saturday. Officials say it is not immediately clear what caused the explosion.

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld issued a stern warning to Syria not to help Iraq.

/// 1st RUMSFELD ACT ///

We have information that shipments of military supplies have been crossing the border from Syria into Iraq, including night vision goggles. These deliveries post a direct threat to the lives of coalition forces. We consider such trafficking as hostile acts and will hold the Syrian government accountable for such shipments.

/// END ACT ///

Syria denied the allegations, saying the United States is trying to cover up crimes against Iraqi civilians.

Mr. Rumsfeld also had sharp words for Iran -- which he says has been training and equipping an anti-Saddam group called the Badr Corps. He says hundreds of Badr Corps members are already inside Iraq and that many more are in Iran, near the Iraqi border.

/// 2nd RUMSFELD ACT ///

We will hold the Iranian government responsible for their (Badr Corps) actions and will view Badr Corps activity inside Iraq as unhelpful. Armed Badr Corps members found in Iraq will have to be treated as combatants.

/// END ACT ///

On the diplomatic front, the U-S State Department says authorities have thwarted the plans of Iraqi intelligence agents to attack American interests in two foreign countries. Spokesman Richard Boucher did not identify the two countries, but says U-S authorities gathered information about the plots in recent days.

/// BOUCHER ACT ///

In both cases, operatives were arrested and terrorist material confiscated. The planned attacks were not successful.

/// END ACT ///

Washington has asked 60 countries hosting Iraqi embassies to expel Iraqi diplomats and freeze assets in anticipation of a war-induced change of government in Baghdad. Nearly a third have complied.

In New York, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to resume shipment of humanitarian aid to Iraq through the Oil for Food program. German Ambassador Gunter Plueger said the council is unified in its desire to help the Iraqi people.

/// PLUEGER ACT ///

I think this was a good day for the United Nations, a good day for the Security Council, and, I hope, also a good day for the suffering people of Iraq.

/// END ACT ///

The Oil for Food program had been suspended before the conflict began. It had provided food for about 60-percent of Iraq's population. U-S Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States will take a leading role in delivering humanitarian relief.

/// NEGROPONTE ACT ///

The United States will facilitate the necessary coordination on the ground in Iraq between coalition authorities and the United Nations and associated relief agency staff as oil-for-food supplies and other humanitarian assistance arrive and are distributed, as circumstances on the ground permit.

/// END ACT ///

The United Nations also has launched a two-billion dollar appeal for the immediate emergency needs of Iraqis.

Britain's Sir Galahad was the first supply ship to arrive in the southern Iraqi port of Umm Qasr Friday. The ship had been delayed from off-loading for several days, as coalition forces worked to remove mines from the waters. (Signed)

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