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3 Oct 2014

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GULF WAR - 10 years on
CONTROL OF THE SKIES
The no-fly zones were set up by the US, Britain and France after the 1991 Gulf War to protect the Kurds in the north and the Shi'ite Muslims in the south of Iraq.

Since Operation "Desert Fox" of 17-19 December 1998, Iraqi aircraft have frequently entered the no-fly zones. Iraq accuses foreign planes flying in these areas of violating its national sovereignty. The US and UK jets monitoring the no-fly zones have launched several attacks on Iraqi missile sites after being targeted by those sites. The situation now is one of low-intensity warfare between Iraq and the US and UK.

The no-fly zones are enforced by US and British aircraft. France no longer takes part in the monitoring of the two zones - arguing that their purpose has changed. France withdrew from patrolling the northern zone in 1997, and from the southern zone after Operation Desert Fox of December 1998.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told the Defence Select Committee on 19 April that patrolling the no-fly zones involved around 1,000 UK personnel. Gulf operations as a whole for last year cost £30 million.

In the period April 1999-March 2000, the RAF flew a total of 2,683 sorties in the no-fly zones, of which 2,233 were in the southern zone. (Defence Select Committee Report on Iraq, July 2000)

The no-fly zones
  • The northern Kurdish region of Iraq is protected by a no fly zone separated from the rest of Iraq by the "36th parallel" (situated north of latitude 36 degrees N). It covers an area of 19,000 square miles, including the city of Mossoul.
  • South of Baghdad Iraq is subject to a no fly zone from the "33rd parallel"(south of latitude 33 degrees N), which covers approximately a third of the country. This was set up from the 32nd parallel in 1992 to protect Iraq's Shi'ite Muslims who are opposed to Iraq's Sunni Muslim regime. It includes the city of Basra. In September 1996 this zone was extended to the "33rd parallel" just south of Baghdad - which France disagreed with and Iraq has never accepted.
The two zones together cover more than half of Iraqi territory. They are not backed by specific UN resolutions, although the three allies invoke a Security Council Resolution which demands that Iraq end its repression of its population. The allies say the zones were established for humanitarian reasons. Critics say it is unjust.

Sanctions-busting flights?
Iraq announced in October last year that the state owned airline, Iraqi Airways, would resume internal flights on November 5. The airline suspended flights in 1992 with the imposition of the no-fly zones in the north and south of the country by the US and Britain. Although the airline's resumption of internal flights does not break the 1990 UN air embargo on Iraq, it does challenge the no-fly zones set up by the US, UK and France and is an important signal of the regime's revived strength and influence.

Iraq is enjoying an improved relationship with many other Arab states, particularly in the wake of the Middle East crisis. In November Jordan's Prime Minister, Ali Abu al-Ragheb, flew to Baghdad to attend a trade fair. His was the highest-ranking Arab official visit since the embargo went into effect.

There are fears at the United Nations that the fragile Security Council consensus over policy on Iraq is unravelling, as a host of Arab and European states challenge the UN embargo on flights to Iraq:

  • An initial French flight landed at the newly opened Saddam International Airport in September 2000, followed by another later last year. The flights have been announced only a few days before their departure dates, meaning that they cannot be approved by the UN sanctions committee.
  • Russia has also allowed three flights to travel to Iraq, without the approval of the UN sanctions committee. Russia is also planning to resume commercial flights to Iraq on a regular basis
  • Jordan was the first Arab country to send a flight to Iraq, on 27 September and Yemen sent one on 29 September. Both flights received clearance from the UN sanctions committee.
  • A number of other Arab states have since followed suit, most of them carrying humanitarian supplies. These include flights from Morocco, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Syria. Egypt, Libya, Turkey and Lebanon have also chartered flights.
The UN sanctions committee has not ruled on whether the recent rash of flights are sanctions-busting, apparently to prevent the disharmony over sanctions being worsened.


Gulf War Report - Part 1, Gulf War 10 years On
Gulf War Report - Part 2, Iraq's Empty Promises
Gulf War Report - Part 3, Saddam still in Power
Gulf War Report - Part 4, Sanctions
Gulf War Report - Part 6, Arms Inspections
Gulf War Report - Part 7, Depleted Uranium - Special Report by Barbara Plett & Links




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