Foreigners flee Bagdad explosions

Press, 1 April 1985, Page 6

Foreigners flee Bagdad explosions

NZPA-Reuter Bagdad Hundreds of foreigners fearing for their safety have left Bagdad after numerous explosions in the city over the last two weeks, diplomats said yesterday. Several Asian and European embassies had advised their nationals to avoid central Bagdad and some had recommended that non-es-sential workers and dependants leave Iraq. “We are advising our people to leave the central part of the city for the time being, at least until the situation stabilises,” a British Embassy spokesman said.

Diplomats said nationals from South Korea, the Soviet Union and a number of East European countries had also left.

A United States Embassy spokesman said no special advice had been given to

the few dozen Americans in Bagdad, Iraqi officials, who have given no figures for casualties, blamed Iranian agents for the first two explosions, which Iran said were all caused by missiles it fired into Bagdad.

Three of the explosions were near the British Embassy compound in the KfaShawaka area.

The British spokesman said the Ambassador, Mr Terry Clark, had told representatives of the British community that there was a danger zone within a 2.4 km radius of the city centre. The embassy would continue to operate normally, the spokesman said. About 1100 Britons live or work in central Bagdad, including more than 150 doctors and nurses at the Ibn al-Bitar hospital. Bagdad’s international

school, which has more than 500 foreign students, suspended classes earlier this month after Iran threatened to attack Bagdad airport. Iraq and Iran renewed military attacks on each other at the week-end as peace missions from the United Nations and India sought to end the fighting. The U.N. Secretary-Gen-eral, Mr Javier Perez de Cuellar, who has decried attacks on civilian targets, arrived in Riyadh on Saturday. His itinerary includes Oman, Bahrain and Qatar and he has said he may also go to Teheran and Bagdad if invited.

An Indian peace mission, led by the Minister of State for External Affairs, Kurshed Alam Khan, is now in Teheran after a similar visit to Bagdad. India chairs the non-aligned movement.