Kuwait committed to UN border

Hours after its border post in the northern part came under mortar shelling on Wednesday, Kuwait reiterated yesterday its commitment to its borders drawn by the United Nations.

The assailants in Wednesday's incidents are yet to be identified, but security sources indicated that it could be Iraqis who oppose the barrier at the border. No injuries were reported in the incident.

On Wednesday afternoon, special forces were called in to take control of the area. Repair work on the border fence, which was destroyed by the Iraqis, has resumed.

Meanwhile, Khalid Al Jarallah, the foreign ministry undersecretary, has reiterated that the fence was erected in Kuwaiti territory, away from the border, and it was approved by the United Nations.

"If there are Iraqi farms nearby, as some claim, it should be removed because it is the land of Kuwait," he added in a statement published in Kuwait yesterday.

Meanwhile, the governor of Basra affirmed that the border situation was under close observation and the Iraqi police had controlled the protesters.

He said the government in Baghdad was briefed on the situation and liaison with Kuwait was continuing.

Kuwaiti papers quoted informed sources as indicating that the reconstruction of the fence might be stopped temporarily to ease tension, while the two governments discussed the issue.

Although an additional security contingent is ready and standing by, the Kuwait government gives priority to peaceful means to resolve the issue.

The American forces stationed in Kuwait are monitoring the situation, while the British forces in Iraq also remain vigilant.

According to sources, some of the protesters belong to the Baath Party, while some are supporters of radical Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr.

Kuwait insists on having the border fence, which it says is necessary for its security. The government is also willing to compensate the Iraqi farmers who have farms in the disputed land.

More than 1,000 Iraqis on Monday had pulled down metal barriers near the border town of Umm Qasr.

National Assembly member Essam Al Daboos condemned the demonstrations and said that they were being initiated by Iraqis in Umm Qasr near the Kuwait-Iraq border.

Lawmaker Al Daboos warned that such irresponsible acts might continue if the Iraqi Government fails to take a firm stance.

But Islamist-tribal lawmaker Daif Allah Buramia held Kuwait's "weak" foreign policy responsible for encouraging such protests. He charged that it reflected an official Iraqi policy.

The lawmaker said the government has not learned the lesson of the 1990 Iraqi invasion because it is using the same pre-invasion foreign policy.