U.N. Team Notes Iraq Buildup in Marshes Shielding Shiites

A U.N. inspection team has reported evidence of an Iraqi military buildup near a marshy region in southern Iraq where Shiite Muslim refugees have gathered, officials said Wednesday.

The team reported that there were indications that between 30,000 and 100,000 Iraqi refugees are cornered in the Howr al Hammar marshland by the Iraqi military, according to U.N. diplomats.

The situation has prompted Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, the U.N. secretary general’s envoy for humanitarian aid to the region, to plan an urgent visit there, a U.N. announcement said. He is expected to visit on Monday.

A State Department spokeswoman said Washington is pleased that Sadruddin will attempt to defuse the situation and see if relief stations can be set up.

“We welcome his mission and urge the Iraqi government to cooperate fully with his request,” she added.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said there is evidence that the Iraqi military had built emplacements for heavy machine guns about every 30 miles in the region.

The U.N. diplomats said the Iraqi refugees have no access to fresh drinking water and have been forced to drink polluted marsh water. Health conditions are further imperiled by the fact that the refugees, mostly Shiites, are afraid to cook over open fires because smoke could alert the Iraqi army, the diplomats said.

“The mission was perturbed by the substantial military presence in the area,” Nadia Younes, spokeswoman for Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar, told reporters at a daily briefing.

Iran said three weeks ago it had evidence that the Iraqi army was preparing a major mopping-up operation against Shiites who fled to the marshlands when a revolt against President Saddam Hussein was crushed after the Persian Gulf War.

Iran, which is largely Shiite, reported at the time that at least 700,000 Iraqi Shiites were surrounded by Hussein’s forces.

Iraq has repeatedly denied the Iranian charges.

In Geneva, U.N. spokesman Francois Giuliani said “the area in question was identified by the special mission as a particularly high-risk one in terms of human suffering for the displaced people.”

Sadruddin’s mission to the marshlands is part of a larger tour by U.N. humanitarian agencies and experts to assess the condition of civilians throughout Iraq.