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1\TpTA7C OiaPQt MsSiated Press X ^ W w Edited by Jennifer O'Cilka First troops reach refugees, bringing supplies to Kurds ANKARA, Turkey - U.S., Brit ish and French aircraft on Sunday dropped tons of supplies to Iraqi refugees on the Turkish and Ira nian borders, and the first U.S. troops reached a remote refugee camp to aid in the relief effort. About 500,000 refugees, mostly Kurds, have fled northern Iraq to the rugged, mountainous Turkish border and another 900,000 have sought refuge in Iran, officials in both countries say. The Kurds fear the wrath of Saddam Hussein following their failed rebellion after the Persian Gulf war. In the mountains, the refugees have faced hunger, dis ease and death. Saddam insisted anew that in nocent civilians had nothing to fear from his troops, and urged Kurds to return to their homes. Iraqi radio reported Sunday that he had made the assurances a day earlier during a visit to northern Iraq. In southern Iraq, the remaining American forces began pulling back Sunday to a newly established de militarized zone along the Iraq Kuwait border, the U.S. Central Command announced. Despite the pullback, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney restated the U.S. commitment to help the refu gees stranded on Iraq’s northern and southern borders. In an interview on NBC-TV, Cheney said that for at least “the next several days” the United States would maintain responsibility for providing food and water for the refugees in the north and south of Iraq. The United States then plans to turn the operation over to inter national relief organizations. The number of American troops involved in the relief effort jumped to about 8,000 Sunday when 3,500 members of the 24th Marine Expe ditionary Unit arrived at the Turk ish port of Iskenderun, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. PhilipCrowley said. Crowley, a spokesman for the U.S.-Turkish Incirlik air base — which is coordinating relief efforts — said they would assess refugee needs and teach them to put up shelters and provide first-aid. Re lief workers and religious officials have estimated that scores of people have died of dysentery, hunger and cold in the barren camps. The Isikvcren camp lies in an almost inaccessible part of Tur key, on the western part of the Turkish border with Iraq. It is the largest single settlement, with more Lhan 100,000 refugees. Final pullout Troop withdrawal begins RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The fi nal withdrawal of American combat troops from southern Iraq began Sunday, 88 days after the United States launched its massive offensive to drive Saddam Hussein’s forces from Ku wait. American troop strength in the region — which had peaked at more than half a million — has now dropped below 300,000, the military said Sunday. U.S officers said the pullout offi cially ends the occupation of south ern Iraq, but that American warplanes will remain in the air to protect the withdrawing ground troops. They spoke on condition of anonymity. The officers estimated there were at least 40,000 American troops, per haps more, in southern Iraq, but they could not give a precise figure. They said a division-sized force of 10,000 to 15,000 troops would tem porarily remain in the newly estab lished demilitarized zone until a 1,440 member U.N. peacekeeping force is in place. The other U.S. troops will return home as soon as possible, the U.S. officers said. The zone reaches six miles into Iraq from the Kuwaiti border, but U.S. officers said this is a technical point and that the troop movement - ii ---" We have a very rough idea of deployment, but nothing has been finalized. Hotter U.N. official -- >f _ essentially will end the U.S. occupa tion of Iraqi territory. The move back to the demilita rized zone will be completed within a few days, they said. The U.S. military also said the United States and its allies would not abandon more than 40,000 refugees in southern Iraq, many of whom oppose Saddam Hussein. It said the allies would protect them from reprisals and feed and house them. The command issued an invitation to any refugees in the area occupied by the Americans to move with them into the demilitarized zone. If they do, “they will be provided assistance and protection by coalition forces,” the Central Command said. Military sources said President Bush issued the withdrawal orders to has ten the American pullout to avoid being dragged into Iraqi’s civil war tor a prolonged period and risk fur ther American casualties. U.S. casualties in thegulf war were extremely low by military standards — 139 killed in action, 357 wounded in action, six missing in action and 117 killed in non-combat circum stances. Iraqi war dead were believed to number in the tens of thousands, but no figure was ever released. The U.S. Central Command said American troop strength has dropped to 295,000 in the Persian Gulf from a peak of 540,000 when the war started on Jan. 17. About 5,000 American troops are leaving every day. The command sai.' the last re maining Army corps, the VII Corps, was moving from south of the Eu phrates River in Iraq to the zone along the Iraq-Kuwait border. Joachim Hutter, a U.N. official who is part of the peacekeeping mis sion, said he could not give a time frame for getting the troops to the DMZ because many logistical mat ters must be worked out. Some of the U.N. troops should begin arriving this week, but it is unlikely they will go straight to the border, U.N. officials have said. “We have a very rough idea of deployment, but nothing has been finalized,” Hutter said. 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TEL. 1 -800-537-2 186**1*03-3234-5071 | (♦H9 om.m.•»»: ini'M ll *»f!Wl tr «/*-KU.S.A New York Office *AMLit* W<ri*Wai* <»■»%* TEL. 1-800-344-7241 Jtl3212-986-5520 ■ ■LIT. (TB9 OOAM~» 001'M N< T.m»l Oil tanker explodes off Riviera; experts fear ecological disaster GENOA, Italy - Rocked by one last explosion, a fire-ravaged tanker holding millions of gallons of oil sank Sunday off the Italian Riviera, and experts worked to avert an ecological catastrophe in the Mediterranean. The Cypriot-registered tanker Haven appeared to have remained intact on the sandy sea bottom 1 1/2 miles off the Italian shore and it was believed most of the vessel’s crude remained inside, officials said. However, patches of oil washed ashore on several stretches of beach along a 15-mile swath of the resort coast west of Genoa, and currents moved other slicks that one official described as “leopard spots” on the sea. The officials said no further oil spills had surfaced by late Sunday, but that they were wailing for a better assessment from footage taken by underwater robots deployed around the wreck. The Haven exploded Thursday, starting a fire that spewed black, thick smoke for four days. Three more explosions rocked the sea Saturday, and the final blast came Sunday morning — 4 1/2 hours before the Haven went under, leaving steam and an oil slick on the surface. A joint statement issued by the ministers of civil defense and envi ronment said the damage was “con tainable.” “Now we have to cross our fingers and hope that the crude still inside the tanker does not come out,” they said. The tanker had held nearly 42 million gallons of Iranian crude. A Genoa port authority official, giving “an extremely rough” estimate, said perhaps 15 million gallons of that had burned up in the fires. The official spoke on condition of anonymity. The tanker went down in waters about 240 feet deep off the resort town of Arenzano, 16 miles from Genoa. As the tanker sank, there was worry it would cause the Mediterranean’s worst environmental disaster. Greenpeace, the international environmental organization, surveyed the area with a helicopter and said oil from the ship could be seen in spots in a 40-square-mile area. “We are afraid of a black sum mer,” said Giandomemco Olivieri, a tourist official in Celle Ligurc, where the beach was spotted with tar. Some English and German tour ists sunned on the beach just a few yards from the globs of thick oil. Motorists gawked at slicks visible from the scenic highways along the Riviera. “We mustn’t be pessimistic nor optimistic,” said Italy’s environmental minister, Giorgio Ruffolo. “Neither can we guarantee that there won’t be a disaster.” Scores of boats helped officials set up floating barriers around the site where the tanker sank to contain spots of oil and prevent more from washing up on beaches. More barriers were erected 300 feel off about 10 miles of coastline. Maurice Aubert, a marine biology expert from the University of Nice, and other experts said the extreme heat of the fires had likely turned the oil remaining in the tanker nearly solid. That would make it easier to remove the oil and lessen the danger of leaks. u.b. Embassy back in business Nel?ra&kan Editor Eric Planner 472- 1766 Managing Editor Victoria Ayotts Assoc. News Editors Jana Pedersen Emily Rosenbaum Editorial Page Editor Bob Nelson Wire Editor Jennifer O'ClIka Copy Desk Editor Diane Brayton Sports Editor Paul Do malar Arts & Entertain ment Editor Julia Naughton Diversions Editor Connie Sheehan Photo Chief WlHlam Lauer Professional Aaviser Don Walton 473- 7301 The Daily Nebraskan(USPS 144 <380) is published by the UNL Publications Board, Ne braska Union 34, 1400 R St., Lincoln, NE, Monday through Friday during the academic year; weekly during summer sessions. Readers are encouraged to submit story ideas and comments to the Daily Nebraskan by phoning 472-1763 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m Monday through Friday. The public also has access to the Publications Board. For information, contact Bill Vobejda, 436-9993. Subscription price is $45 for one year. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Dally Nebraskan, Nebraska Union 34,1400 R St.,Lincoln, NE 68588-0448. Second-class postage paid at Lincoln, NE. ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1991 DAILY NEBRASKAN KUWAIT CITY - The U.S. Em bassy is back in business, but not business as usual. After enduring an Iraqi siege and the dislocations of war, the staff finds itself at the heart of Kuwait’s efforts to rebuild, enjoying an access to government officials unparalleled in the Arab world. “Nobody in Kuwait doubts what the United States did,” said Ambassa dor Edward Gnchm. “The Kuwaitis know it in a very emotional, firsthand way. I don’t need to say it.” Americans are involved in virtu ally every aspect of reconstruction, from restoring electric power to re equipping the police. Gnehm and his staff are viewed as advisers and close friends whose country has proved in combat its concern for Kuwait. U.S. influence is evident in mili tary programs, banking and rebuild ing of the devastated oil industry. The embassy serves as a liaison and ad . viser to American businesses seeking reconstruction contracts, and diplo mats expect U.S. firms to get a large share of the business. When the war began in January, several of the current staff, including Gnehm, served as an unofficial em bassy to Kuwait’s exiled government in Saudi Arabia. They said this ar rangement was a first in U.S. diplo macy. There is a sense of excitement, of making history, as the diplomats help the battered emirate get back on its feet. ‘‘It’s a unique opportunity,” said Gail Rogers, the embassy consul and a veteran of the Iraqi siege. “You have the chance to be on the ground floor of the rebuilding of a country.” Some at the embassy expect the warm relationship will cool slightly, that the Kuwaitis at some point may separate themselves from the Ameri cans for domestic or regional politi cal reasons.