OP TELIC - 'GOOD NEWS TUESDAY' 10 MAR - 16 MAR 04

[Oprindeligt publiceret af Hærstaben]

1. The following are a selection of ‘Good News’ stories from across the MND(SE) Area of Operations in Southern Iraq for the period 10 - 16 Mar 04.

RECONSTRUCTION

INFRASTRUCTURE

2. Restoration of Iraq’s Railway. USAID and partner Bechtel are working with Iraqi Republican Railways (IRR) to improve Iraq’s railroad system between the Umm Qasr Port and the main line near Basra, restoring vital commercial and humanitarian flows into Iraq. Work under this project includes training IRR personnel, rehabilitating rail stations and administrative buildings, and repairing 72 kilometres of track between the port of Umm Qasr and Shaiba junction. Work is continuing on establishing the track ballast, the stone foundation that supports the railroad track.

The ballast production rate has met targets averaging 800 cubic meters a day, and peaking at 1000 cubic meters on 4 March. Across the southern 50 kilometres of the site, workers are continuing to compact the existing embankment. Progress in the northern section has been delayed by utility problems, but an agreement to repair the utility lines has now been reached. The last 10 kilometres of track is now 80 percent complete. More widely, there are now daily passenger rail services between Baghdad and Basra, as well as between Mosul and Aleppo in Syria. Rail freight services are even more extensive.

3. Umm Qasr Port. The port at Umm Qasr is now functioning at a higher capacity than at any time in the last decade, with all 21 docking berths now open permanently to deep-draught ships.

4. Oil Production. Oil production now stands at 2.3 million barrels per day, of which 1.3 million are exported. This exceeds the Ministry of Oil's target of 2 million barrels per day.

5. Water and Sanitation. Iraq's water and sanitation networks have suffered the most from underinvestmant and dilapidation for a decade or more, and the task of rehabilitation is enormous. Nevertheless, considerable progress continues to be made.

For example, An Najaf and Karabla now have 48 functioning village water treatment plants, and An Najaf's own municipal plant will be completed by June. The rehabilitation of the Sweetwater Canal in Basra, due to be complete by July, will benefit a further 1.75 million people.

a. Water Projects. A $25000 project, led by the Salvation Army, to refurbish the East Bank water purification system in Kumayt is nearing completion. A further water project is taking place in Ali Al Sharqi where Iraqi Engineers are managing the refurbishment of the water treatment plant. This project which is also Coalition-funded will cost $17,000. Projects such as these are a high priority for the province as clean water is essential to help maintain health and hygiene for the people.

b. Restoration Of Water Pumps In Al Hasharyiah. A project to restore water pumps in the town of Al Hasharyiah has been completed. The pumps were donated to the town during the 1950s but last year there was only one pump still standing and this had not been working for many years. The pump has now been restored in a $10,000 project so that it can be used to maintain crops grown in the town. The pump was turned back on after many years on the 4 March.

c. Water Trucks For As Samawah Province. Twenty two water trucks were handed over to the water department by Coalition and Japanese Forces in As Samawah on the 10 March. This will contribute to the distribution of fresh water in Al Muthanna. The ceremony was attended by the Governor of Al Muthanna, the Japanese Commander and the Commanding Officer of the Netherlands Battlegroup.

d. Al Hawtah Irrigation System Restored. A $100,000 project to restore blocked irrigation canals in the Al Hawtah district of Basra Province has been completed. The Al Hawtah district, on the eastern bank of the Shatt Al Arab, is an agricultural area that suffered damage from both the Iran-Iraq war and a lack of maintenance. Now, the irrigation system serving an area of around 50 square kilometres has been restored: 8 irrigation channels have been cleaned and the embankments re-established.

The project was undertaken with the assistance of the Norwegian Corps of Engineers working with the Al-Batat Company as main contractor, in co-operation with Basra Directorate of Irrigation, Iraqi contracting engineers and Coalition Provisional Authority advisers. The major irrigation structures in the area to the south east of the city of Basra were in urgent need of restoration and the completion of this project will help improve the lives of farmers and their families in the concerned area.

6. New Agricultural Bank for Maysan. Construction work on the Agricultural Bank building in Al Amarah in Maysan is now being completed. The bank, a key facility for the regeneration of the Province, will allow farmers and agricultural businesses to borrow small amounts of money to help develop their businesses and help regenerate the economy of Maysan Province. Staff from the Directorate of Agriculture will assist in proper business planning.

7. Coalition Forces Clearing Massive Arms Dump. British and Italian military explosives experts have begun the systematic clearance of a massive Iraqi arms dump outside the city of An Nasiriyah. Dangerously unstable ordnance litters the 147 square kilometres site at Tallil after it was looted following the conflict last year. Hundreds of artillery shells were prised apart by the looters, who stole the brass casings to sell for scrap.

Indeed, several looters died when one shell exploded, setting off a devastating chain reaction. Three hundred tonnes of ammunition has already been removed by the military but it will take several weeks to completely clear the site. The heat is posing a particular problem at the moment; it can cause shells to leak, and in some cases to spontaneously explode.

EDUCATION

8. Courses on Computers and English Language in Dhi Qar. The Engineers Union in Dhi Qar has started courses, free of charge, to teach computer and English language lessons to the engineers in the Province. Each 40-day course will include 25 engineer students.

9. New School for Sayyd Dakhil. “The children are our future; this is a day of joy for you but also for us”. With these words, the Italian Joint Task Force Commander, Brigadier General Chiarini, greeted the director of a primary school opened near the village of Sayyd Dakhil.

The school underwent major reconstruction financed by Italy that included the building of 3 new classrooms to increase the facility’s potential. The school has been named after Lance Corporal Pietro Petrucci who, at 20 years of age, was the youngest Italian Army victim of the tragic terrorist attack which occurred in An Nasiriyah on 12 November last year.

MEDICAL

10. Refurbishment of As Samawah General Hospital. A $500 000 reconstruction project to refurbish the General Hospital in As Samawah has begun. The project is managed by Halcrow Recovery and Infrastructure Group, working with the Al-Nada General Company as contractor, and the work is expected to be completed by the end of April.

The General Hospital is a key medical facility in Al Muthannna Province, with 420 beds serving a large, mixed community of around 2500 outpatients every day. The project has been developed in consultation with the hospital authorities and Coalition Provisional Authority health advisers. The Coalition Provisional Authority (South) recognises the need to invest in the region’s health services, which have suffered from years of under-investment. The Ministry of Health will fund future operating and maintenance costs.

SECURITY

IRAQI SECURITY FORCES

11. Further Iraqi Civil Defence Corps Graduations. Iraqi Civil Defence Corps Course Number 7 graduated in Al Amarah this week, with 445 soldiers from the 6th Battalion graduating. Iraqi Civil Defence Corps Course Number 8 commences on 16 March. The initial training course lasts 3 weeks and comes in 2 forms, Basic and Specialist.

The basic training consists of weapon handling, patrolling, vehicle check point procedures, first aid, mine awareness, searching, public order and drill. The specialist training course is aimed at those who have already attended a basic course and are taking up specialist posts. The course covers 4 areas: command and leadership, administration, logistics and medical.

12. More Success for the Iraqi Riverine Patrol Service. The new Iraqi Riverine Patrol Service continues to enjoy considerable success. IN an number of operations, including with the US Coastguard, 4 oil-smuggling vessels have been seized.

LAW AND ORDER

13. Drugs Seized In Az Zubayr. On 6 March, Iraqi Police in Al Marbid stopped a white Toyota super saloon with 3 men inside. During a search of the vehicle they found 2 packages of cannabis resin weighing approximately 2 kilogrammes.

The drugs were found in gherkin wrappers that matched drugs seized in the Safwan area in November and a haul seized in Maysan in December. As the Iraqi Police Service was conducting the search, 2 of the men sped off in the vehicle but they were able to arrest the third man, who named his accomplices as another Iraqi from Basra, and an Iranian.

14. Iraqi Police Target Kidnappers. On 14 March, an Iraqi Police Service operation targeting suspected car thieves and kidnappers was launched in the Al Masikh district of Al Amarah with support from Coalition Forces. After a successful cordon and search operation, weapon parts and ammunition were recovered and 5 persons arrested. This is an assertive move by the Iraqi Police that will help to alleviate local concerns about kidnapping in the area.

15. Car Thieves and Kidnappers Arrested. On 14 March, Iraqi Police, supported by Coalition Forces, arrested 6 suspected car thieves and kidnappers in Al Amarah.

16. Cable Thefts Thwarted In Az Zubayr. On 2 March, a patrol in the Hay Al Asra area spotted 3 men carrying coils of cable and digging tools. When stopped and questioned, the 3 men immediately admitted that they had stolen the cable and were planning to sell it for 500 Iraqi Dinar per kilogramme. The 3 men were arrested and handed over to Al Marbat Iraqi Police Station.

Two days later, a patrol in the area of Az Zubayr discovered 7 unknown men digging up cables and pipes. They abandoned their tools and fled. One man was caught and 2 other unknown men were also discovered digging up cables nearby; they gave themselves up and were also detained. The 3 men were handed over to the Iraqi Police at the Al Arab station.

17. Weapon Finds. In addition to ongoing planned clearance operations of ex-Iraqi Army arms dumps, Coalition Forces continue to make significant finds of weapons, all of which have been destroyed in situ or recovered.

This week's haul from a number of successful search operations include small arms, 100 artillery rounds, 114 grenades, 107 mines (various types), one mortar, over 250 mortar rounds, 7 RPGs, 42 RPG warheads, 80kg of explosives and 40 fuses, and 19 prepared explosive charges.

18. Hijackings Foiled. Iraqi Police and Coalition Forces have foiled 3 attempted vehicle hijackings. In the course of these, 8 suspects were arrested, 2 of whom were wounded in exchanges of fire.

19. COALITION FORCES BEGIN CLEARING MASSIVE ARMS DUMP

BRITISH and Italian military explosives experts have begun the systematic clearance of a massive arms dump outside the city of An Nasiriyah.
Dangerously unstable ammunition and charges litter the 14 sq km site at Tallill after locals looted it following the conflict last year.

Hundreds of artillery shells were pried apart by the looters, who stole the brass casings to sell for scrap. Several looters died when one shell exploded, setting off a devastating chain reaction.

Major Chris Henson, who is overseeing the project, said 300 tonnes of ammunition had already been removed from Tallill by the military.

“A particular problem at the moment is the heat,” he said. “It can cause some of the shells to leak, and in some cases they can spontaneously explode.

“It will take several weeks to completely clear the site,” he said. “First we will remove ammunition that we can recover for the New Iraqi Army, and then we will destroy anything which is too dangerous to move.”

Italian explosive experts have also been involved in the operation, helping to clear the site of the most dangerous material and also recording the vast quantities of ammunition stored at Tallill.

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