Kuwaitis organize small-scale resistance to Saddam's armies

[clar...@clarinet.com]

CAIRO, Egypt (UPI) -- Kuwait's government-in-exile has organized
small bands of resistance fighters who have been carrying out nightly
raids across Saudi Arabia into the occupied emirate, reportedly killing
several Iraqi soldiers, a spokesman said Monday.
The spokesman said the Kuwaiti resistance, operating in bands of
five or six fighters, was conducting the raids against Iraqi army units
to deter atrocities against Kuwaiti citizens.
``We are trying to make the (Iraqi) soldiers afraid to do something
against the Kuwaiti people, to give them something to think about,''
Ahmad Fahad al Ahmad al Sabah, a nephew of Kuwait's deposed Emir Sheikh
Jaber al Ahmad al Sabah, said in an interview with United Press
International at a Cairo hotel.
``Like the Afghanis (fighting the Soviet Union), we want to make
(Iraqi troops) always afraid and thinking,'' Al Sabah said.
Gulf-based Western diplomats have reported limited pockets of
resistance to Iraq's Aug. 2 invasion of the oil-rich emirate, but there
were no immediate indications of the effectiveness of the opposition.
Early editions of Tuesday's Al Akhbar newspaper reported the
resistance movement said it had destroyed an Iraqi tank and armored
personnel carrier Sunday, killing several Iraqi soldiers. The report
could not be independently confirmed.
Western diplomats did confirm some reports of atrocities by Iraqi
troops, however, including the shooting deaths of a number of women
demonstrating against the invasion in Kuwait City.
Al Sabah, whose father was killed defending the Emir's palace
during an Iraqi armored advance, said the small-scale resistance that
started last week would not be able to budge Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein's massive invasion force, but may at least deliver a message.
``The units operate in small bands of no more than five to six,''
he said. ``They are comprised of soldiers and citizens. ... The units
sneak across the border between Iraqi troops to carry out the raids in
Kuwait City before returning to Saudi Arabia.''
Al Sabah said officials from the Kuwaiti government-in-exile were
directing the guerilla bands from the Saudi border. Several hundred of
Kuwait's 20,000-strong army managed to flee the invading Iraqis and find
refuge in the Saudi Arabian desert.
Al Sabah said Kuwaitis fleeing to Saudi Arabia last week described
some mass slayings of families by Iraqi troops. More than 20 civilians a
day were being killed for not cooperating with the soldiers, he said,
but the report could not be independently confirmed.
The resistance leaders counted on Western nations to eventually
offer support for their attacks, but in the meantime Kuwaitis would
fight the occupation, Al Sabah said.
``We are not upset (with the United States and other nations)
because we understand political decisions and the potential for greater
conflict, but we are not going to sit by and wait for outside help,'' Al
Sabah said. ``Our brothers are being killed and families are being raped
and our land was stolen.
``If you see your brother fighting, you will go help him. God
willing, we will kick them out of our country, or they will have to kill
all the Kuwaitis.''
Several thousand Kuwaiti citizens between the ages of 21 and 35
have signed up to join the resistance at embassies worldwide, Al Sabah
said. Hundreds of Egyptians, other Arabs and five Americans also have
volunteered, he said.
``People think that Kuwait is rich and that we are not patient and
hard people, but we are. Like President Bush said, listen, watch and
learn,'' he said.
Inside Kuwait, citizens separate from the organized resistance also
were carrying out suicide attacks against Iraqi soldiers in response to
Iraqi atrocities, Al Sabah said.
Al Sabah reported one incident in which a father, six daughters and
several other children were killed after the father prevented soldiers
from sexually assaulting one of his daughters.
``The soldiers don't have anything else to do, so they go crazy.
You can buy your life with a bottle of water,'' he said.
Iraqi soldiers and citizens have confiscated several houses,
resulting in as many as 10 Kuwaiti families living in one home, Al Sabah
said. Other Kuwaitis faced increased medical risks because they were
denied treatment for heart disease and other ailments, he said.
Several hundred Kuwaitis were reported to have been killed during
the invasion. About 100,000 of Kuwait's population of 1.9 million people
were abroad on vacation during the invasion, officials estimate.
Some American civilians called Kuwaiti officials and offered to
share military expertise for free, Al Sabah said. He said he took their
telephone numbers and would call them back if needed.
``It makes us feel stronger to know that people want to help us,''
he said.