First supplies of relief aid arrive in Iraq
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.
After days of fierce fighting that shut down the port of Umm Qasr, Iraqi youths cheered and swarmed around British troops as they handed out yellow meal packets and bottles of water yesterday.
"Umm Qasr is now secure as a port and as a town," said Brig Jim Dutton of the Royal Marines. The British troops, already in the town, were not part of the aid convoy.
In New York, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said he was "increasingly concerned by humanitarian casualties in this conflict," including 14 civilians reportedly killed in Baghdad by two coalition missiles.
In Umm Qasr, hundreds of cases of water were stacked on three of the trucks. The rest carried boxes of tuna, crackers, sweets and other food.
As the trucks lumbered past blasted buildings on the Iraq-Kuwait border, an Iraqi boy of about 10 pointed to his mouth and shouted "Eat, eat!"
People lined up along the streets, giving thumbs-up signs to the aid convoy as it rolled by and begging for food and cigarettes.
The town's deepwater port, the only one in Iraq, is essential for any relief.
Annan yesterday warned that the United States is legally responsible for providing relief aid.
