Prepare to Move, Iraq Tells Foreign Embassies

The Iraqi government has advised embassies to prepare to move from Baghdad to temporary facilities in a city west of the capital, diplomatic sources said today.

In a related development, Iraq today denied foreign news reports that it also plans to move all government institutions from Baghdad before the Jan. 15 U.N. deadline for Iraq to pull out of Kuwait or risk possible attack.

“These reports are fabricated and ridiculous. Baghdad is the capital of steadfastness and victory and will remain so, protected by its men under the leadership of President Saddam Hussein,” the official Iraq News Agency said.

The proposed relocation of embassies was conveyed to heads of diplomatic missions on Thursday but no moving date was suggested, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

“It is not an order, but we have been advised to prepare for a possible relocation of our missions,” said one of the sources, an Indian diplomat.

He confirmed that Indian Ambassador Kamal Bakshi was approached Thursday by Foreign Ministry officials.

The Indian diplomat and the other sources said that under the plan, all 71 missions operating in Baghdad would move to Ramadi, a city on the banks of the Euphrates River 65 miles from Baghdad.

It is next to the Habbaniya resort, which houses one of the largest vacation complexes in the Middle East. During the Iran-Iraq War, diplomats often sent their families to Habbaniya to escape missile attacks on Baghdad.

U.S. Embassy officials were not available for comment on the report, but American Embassy sources said earlier this week that they have “contingency plans” to move out of Baghdad in the event of war.

The U.S. Embassy has cut its staff from 33 to six in recent weeks, part of a general pullout of diplomats from the Iraqi capital. The Japanese Embassy has cut its staff from 18 to four, the French Embassy is down to three diplomats, and the Italians are down to five staffers.

The British Embassy plans to keep only six personnel, including the ambassador, after the U.N. deadline, sources at the embassy said.