First supplies of relief aid arrive in Iraq

THE first sizeable relief convoy arrived in southern Iraq yesterday as the allies struggled to clear the way for more aid shipments.

Escorted by American troops, seven large tractor-trailers arrived in Umm Qasr carrying food and water donated by the Kuwaitis.

"We planned for 30 trucks, but we only got seven loaded because of the severe sandstorm," said E.J. Russell of the Humanitarian Operations Centre, a joint US-Kuwaiti agency. The storm cut visibility to about 100 yards.