British Gulf War Commander Calls for Compensation

The commander who led British troops in the Persian Gulf War called for compensation Sunday for the families of British soldiers killed by U.S. pilots in a “friendly fire” accident during the conflict.

Gen. Peter de la Billiere, who retired from active service two years ago, said the families of the nine victims, who have not been offered financial compensation by the United States, should be treated more generously.

“The bottom line is that the American and British governments have got to look after those British families who suffered rather better than they have up to now,” he said in an interview on British Broadcasting Corp. television.

The nine soldiers were killed by fire from U.S. aircraft Feb. 27, 1991, after being mistaken for an enemy target.

De la Billiere said he failed to understand why the United States had paid compensation over another “friendly fire” incident in an Iraqi “no-fly” zone this year but not to the victims of the earlier wartime accident.

A U.S. Air Force fighter pilot has been charged with negligent homicide in the April 14 attack on two U.S. helicopters over Iraq in which 26 people were killed. The families of two British officers who died in the April incident have each been awarded $100,000 in compensation by the U.S. Defense Department.