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U.S.-bound Kurds head to Guam
Latest in long stream of Iraqi refugees worldwide
September 17, 1996
Web posted at: 10:50 a.m. EDT (1450 GMT)
In this story: Criminals excluded Kurd refugees in Iran Gulf War scattered Iraqis (CNN) -- More than 2,000 Iraqi Kurds, fearing reprisals for their connections with U.S. aid programs, are being airlifted by the United States to the Pacific island of Guam. They will be housed in vacant military facilities for up to three months as they are processed for resettlement in the United States.
Charter flights carrying nearly 800 of the refugees left Monday for Guam, a U.S. territory. The remainder are due by Thursday. The flights are leaving from Diyarbakir in southern Turkey where the 2,075 refugees were taken by bus in recent days in an evacuation from Iraq.
About half that number had worked on U.S. humanitarian programs in the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq and fear reprisals against them and their families now that forces allied with Saddam Hussein control much of that region.
Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said the United States felt an obligation to the refugees, since Saddam might "inflict punishment" because of their work for U.S. aid agencies.
Criminals excluded
The State Department says the vast majority will resettle in the United States but those found to have criminal records will be excluded.
In Agana, Guam, Gov. Carl Gutierrez said the refugees will live in 360 vacant military homes. Local public health and customs officials will work as the lead agencies in processing the refugees, the governor said. Once the processing stage is over, the evacuees will be relocated to the U.S. mainland.
About 200 soldiers from Schofield Barracks in Hawaii were deployed to Guam on Monday to aid in processing the refugees, as well as to provide security and distribute food.
Kurd refugees in Iran
Meanwhile, about 60,000 other Iraqi Kurds are clustered along the border with Iran. These Iraqis are linked to the Kurdish faction which was routed in recent weeks by a rival group that had support from Iraq's army.
The State Department says about 40,000 have made their way inside Iran and 20,000 more are on the Iraq side of the border. Numerous humanitarian agencies are providing assistance and on Monday Iran requested U.N. aid.
Gulf War scattered Iraqis
The current exodus of Iraqis seems small compared with 1991 when nearly 2 million fled to Saudi Arabia and Iran during and after the Gulf War. Most eventually returned to Iraq, accepting an amnesty decreed by Saddam, but 32,000 stayed in camps in Saudi Arabia.
Of these, most were defectors from Iraq's army or were taken prisoner by the U.S.-led coalition forces and refused to return to Iraq after the war.
About 10,000 of these Iraqis have been resettled in the United States. More than 10,000 others have been accepted in other countries, including Iran, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland and Canada. About 3,000 opted to go back to Iraq.
Those entering the United States receive assistance from U.S. voluntary agencies, which arrange for food, a place to live and help in finding jobs. They generally are sent to locations where they have job prospects.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Kuwait allows U.S. troop deployment - September 16, 1996
- U.S., Iraq move toward another showdown - September 12, 1996
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