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British Forces Get Warm Welcome Near Basra
Aired April 08, 2003 - 14:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: British forces in Basra say they still face sporadic resistance. But they're taking steps to replace Ba'ath Party rule with a new civilian government led by a local tribal leader. Just north of the city, British troops are getting a warm reception from the Iraqis.
Geraint Vincent (ph) reports from southern Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERAINT VINCENT, CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saddam, your days are numbered, is their chant. These people live along the roadway some 20 miles north of Basra. Their joy at the arrival of British troops seem unabated.
Soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment drove up here to secure the surrender of the entire division of the Iraqi army. Their barracks were deserted. All they found were a collection of looters and cheering crowds.
MAJ. COLIN MARXS, ROYAL ARMY REGIMENT: It looked as if the 6th Army have up and fled. They've gone north. They've gone back to wherever they come from. The conscripts -- it would look as if they have deserted and there's nothing here but empty barracks.
VINCENT: Late last night, people in the towns and villages surrounding Basra invited an advancing battalion of British paratroopers into their communities. They were asking for protection from retreating elements of the Ba'athist regime.
Then, into an apparently peaceful scene, a reminder was brought of war's cruelty: two 6-year-old boys treated for shrapnel wounds. In the town of Adia, the looting was well under way. How poor is a society when the biggest prize is are bits of old timber and rusty sheets of corrugated iron?
(on camera): Coalition commanders have described this war of one of liberation and in this part of Iraq at least, that's exactly what it seems to be. Those who enforce the rule of Saddam Hussein are no longer in power and there is now the heady, chaotic atmosphere of newfound freedom, where the symbols of the regime are defaced, if not destroyed.
(voice-over): The iron grid in which Saddam held this society has been prized open. The next challenge is finding a fair government for the people that survive here. Geraint Vincent, Southern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: And that report raising again the question, what has happened to those Iraqi troop who have deserted?
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 8, 2003 - 14:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: British forces in Basra say they still face sporadic resistance. But they're taking steps to replace Ba'ath Party rule with a new civilian government led by a local tribal leader. Just north of the city, British troops are getting a warm reception from the Iraqis.
Geraint Vincent (ph) reports from southern Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERAINT VINCENT, CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saddam, your days are numbered, is their chant. These people live along the roadway some 20 miles north of Basra. Their joy at the arrival of British troops seem unabated.
Soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment drove up here to secure the surrender of the entire division of the Iraqi army. Their barracks were deserted. All they found were a collection of looters and cheering crowds.
MAJ. COLIN MARXS, ROYAL ARMY REGIMENT: It looked as if the 6th Army have up and fled. They've gone north. They've gone back to wherever they come from. The conscripts -- it would look as if they have deserted and there's nothing here but empty barracks.
VINCENT: Late last night, people in the towns and villages surrounding Basra invited an advancing battalion of British paratroopers into their communities. They were asking for protection from retreating elements of the Ba'athist regime.
Then, into an apparently peaceful scene, a reminder was brought of war's cruelty: two 6-year-old boys treated for shrapnel wounds. In the town of Adia, the looting was well under way. How poor is a society when the biggest prize is are bits of old timber and rusty sheets of corrugated iron?
(on camera): Coalition commanders have described this war of one of liberation and in this part of Iraq at least, that's exactly what it seems to be. Those who enforce the rule of Saddam Hussein are no longer in power and there is now the heady, chaotic atmosphere of newfound freedom, where the symbols of the regime are defaced, if not destroyed.
(voice-over): The iron grid in which Saddam held this society has been prized open. The next challenge is finding a fair government for the people that survive here. Geraint Vincent, Southern Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: And that report raising again the question, what has happened to those Iraqi troop who have deserted?
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
