Posted on 03/31/2003 8:50:59 AM PST by BunnySlippers
Iraqi Fighters Prepare for Last Stand in Basra, AFP Reports
Basra, Iraq, March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Civilians fleeing the southern Iraq city of Basra say Iraqi fighters remaining behind are preparing for a last stand, Agence France-Presse reported.
Hundreds of residents are streaming out of the city over a bridge leading south. They told AFP that Iraqi soldiers, paramilitaries and Baath party members loyal to President Saddam Hussein were trying to stop the exodus.
Iraqi mortar positions and snipers had fired on the fleeing civilians in the last few days to stem the flow, AFP cited unidentified British soldiers as saying. The servicemen were awaiting more reinforcements with a view to an assault that would give them control of the city, AFP reported.
Tanks from Britain's so-called Desert Rats unit have already made an incursion into the city to destroy a statue of Hussein -- a pointed message from the coalition forces that this fight is against Hussein and his administration, and not against the general populace, AFP said.
2003-03-31 11:28 (New York).
--Mark Hughes in London
The Marines work quicker.
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