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Crew member of Iraqi dhow shot dead as Kuwaitis enforce blockade
A Kuwaiti gunboat opened fire on an Iraqi dhow killing a member of its crew on Saturday night, as tensions grew between coalition and Iraqi forces operating in the waters of the northern Gulf. The dhow, which is believed to have been attempting to smuggle oil or dates out of Iraq in breach of UN sanctions, was hit after it strayed into Kuwaiti territorial waters.
Rock on, Kuwaitis!
The boat, which had left the Khawr Abd Allah river just before 8pm, was part of a flotilla of more than 30 dhows and small merchant ships that had gathered together at the entrance to the estuary. They were planning a mass break-out to try to scatter the UN mandated forces that patrol Iraqi waters trying to stop the smugglers. The Kuwaiti gunboat challenged the dhow and when it failed to stop fired several warning shots across its bow. Radio transmissions between the two boats suggest the dhow refused to stop until the Kuwaitis stopped firing, while the Kuwaitis refused to stop firing until the dhow stopped.
How dumb do you have to be not to realize who's in the stronger position here?
A bullet, which the Kuwaitis claimed was a misdirected warning shot, then struck the dhow, hitting an Indian member of its crew.
"You killed the crew member!"
"He's not dead yet!"
"Well he's mortally wounded!"
"He's get-ting bet-ter!"
The dhow, which had by now left Kuwaiti territorial waters, called for assistance, and a medical team from the Australian navy ship Kanibula boarded the boat. But they were unable to save the victim. The dhow, with the dead sailor still on board, then returned to Iraq. The captain of HMS Marlborough, Mark Anderson, said he was sure the Kuwaiti gunboat had not meant to hit the dhow. "I am sure that whoever was laying down these warning shots made a serious misjudgment," he said yesterday. "I am convinced they did not hit the dhow on purpose, but unfortunately the Iraqis may use this to try and muddy the waters."
They'll have other things to bitch about soon...
The British naval vessel has been carrying out maritime interdiction operations (MIOs) against smugglers trying to break UN trade embargoes against Iraq. The ship is stopping almost everything that attempts to run the blockade and turning it back or removing its cargo if it is illegal. If the goods on board are within the auspices of the UN oil for food programme, which allows Iraq to sell oil and other goods as long as the revenue is filtered through UN-controlled accounts, the vessel is allowed to go on its way. The blockade is aimed at shipments the country sells to smugglers at a quarter of the price through the back door. HMS Malborough and other British vessels have hugely reduced the amount of oil smuggled out of Iraq, thus depriving Saddam Hussein of revenue the allied coalition believes is being used to fund his military. In two months late last year, one British vessel, HMS Cardiff, intercepted oil worth £600,000, and other illegal goods worth £750,000 on the black market.

Meanwhile, in another sign of escalating tensions in the region, an Iraqi gunboat — one of only a handful of serviceable vessels the Iraqi navy is believed to have left — appeared outside the entrance to the river over the weekend. When a US coastguard, also in the region to enforce UN sanctions, challenged the Iraqi gunboat it trained its weapons on the American vessel. After a brief standoff the two vessels went their separate ways.
That Iraqi gunboat is going to have a short and exciting time. Then it's going to be very quiet.
Posted by: Steve White 2003-03-17
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=11385