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Kurds calmly prepare for possibility of chemical strike
AFP
17 March 2003

ARBIL, Iraq, March 17 (AFP) - 12h36 - Fifteen years after Saddam Hussein's regime launched the notorious chemical strike on the Kurdish city of Halabja, the Kurds are calmly preparing with only basic means for the possibility of a new attack in the wake of a US-led war.

"They've got nothing. Our advice is run, leave," said Giorgio Francia, who works here for the Swedish non-governmental organization Qandil, referring to the meager supplies of protective equipment the Kurds have.

The day after the anniversary of the Halabja attack that killed at least 5,000 people, authorities here admit there is little they can do to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy during the US-led war on Iraq expected to break out imminently.

"We have 1.4 million people in Arbil and we haven't received a single gas mask" from abroad, said deputy governor Mehdi Khoshnaw, whose town is the capital of the zone held by the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP).

"We don't have any medication to face a chemical or biological attack," he added.

In a bitter irony Kurds, like Iraqis living under Baghdad's control, cannot purchase protective suits against a chemical strike since these are banned under the trade embargo slapped on Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War.

NGOs could treat a few hundred people contaminated by a chemical strike, said Francia, but that is of little help during a large scale attack.

"Against mustard gas or nerve gases that penetrate the skin, a mask wouldn't be enough. A small drop of sarin, 6 milligrams, is lethal. They would need a full protective suit," said Francia, an army doctor.

Given the lack of equipment, authorities in Arbil seem to have taken Francia's advice and come up with a "very precise" evacuation plan in case of an attack, involving police and medical services, emergencies coordinator Safkhan Farhan said.

"But we are lacking in cars," he said.

To the southeast in Chamchamal, in the zone controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdishtan (PUK), authorities similarly have advised residents to seek refuge in the villages.

For the past few months, Kurdish authorities have warned their people about what measures to take in case of an attack "step by step in order to not cause panic," said Khoshnaw.

Training programs were organized for small groups of officials in the towns near the demarcation line between the Kurdish area and the zone under Baghdad's control -- Dohuk, Arbil, Kalak, and Chamchamal.

The groups were then charged with informing the population discreetly and without causing alarm.

Residents were told to seek refuge in higher places, on their roofs or in the mountains, if the attack comes while they are outdoors.

For the past two weeks, television channels have started discussing the issue more directly, with "experts" giving advice that ranges from sensible to questionable.

One expert explained that a bird that falls from the sky, a cloud of fire or a smell of apples are signs of a chemical attack, telling people to run upwind or, if they are in a car, to close the windows and turn off the heater.

Another told viewers to improvise a gas mask with some cloth stuffed with moist ashes. "It is useless, these are just popular myths," said Francia.

In the past few weeks, Kurds have been stocking up on food, water and fuel, and have bought plastic sheeting to seal off windows. But there has no rush or signs of panic.

"They are very calm, they've seen so many wars that they know what to do," said Farhan.