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Northern Iraq: Iraqi Troops Give Up, Get Out
Aired April 11, 2003 - 13:12 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.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: It has been another amazing 24 hours in northern Iraq as well. Thousands of ex-Iraqi soldiers went on one last march today toward their old homes and new lives in the south. They left their uniforms behind. Some didn't even leave with shoes.
CNN's Jane Arraf is on top of the changing landscape in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Candy, we've just come from the city of Mosul. We left before sundown, along with some of the Kurdish fighters, leaving a city that had been engaged in complete frenzy of looting all day long. Now a senior Kurdish official here tell us he was saddened by those scenes, which he said could have been prevented.
Now according Hosier Zabarai (ph), who is the head of international relations for the faction that controls this part of northern Iraq, the surrender of 15,000 Iraqi soldiers took place at noon today. Several hours later, a small group of U.S. Special Forces and Kurdish fighters came into the city. But that was hours after the looting had started, after the vacuum left by these retreating Iraqi troops.
Now, there was looting in almost every government building. The buildings that weren't burned were stripped bare to the walls of anything of value, with everything carted away by people, from door frames, to furniture, to anything you can possibly imagine.
At the presidential palace, people were allowed to go for the first time and they actually -- absolutely went wild, tearing down anything they could, putting chandeliers in their cars, shattering glass, and this went on for hours as well.
At the central bank in the center of the city, there was a frenzy of people trying to get in, even as a fire smoldered in that building. They were trying to gather armfuls of cash to get out.
Now around the edges of this, people were asking, Where were the American troops? And as night fell, they were worried that it could just getting worse -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Thanks very much, Jane.
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 11, 2003 - 13:12 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: It has been another amazing 24 hours in northern Iraq as well. Thousands of ex-Iraqi soldiers went on one last march today toward their old homes and new lives in the south. They left their uniforms behind. Some didn't even leave with shoes.
CNN's Jane Arraf is on top of the changing landscape in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Candy, we've just come from the city of Mosul. We left before sundown, along with some of the Kurdish fighters, leaving a city that had been engaged in complete frenzy of looting all day long. Now a senior Kurdish official here tell us he was saddened by those scenes, which he said could have been prevented.
Now according Hosier Zabarai (ph), who is the head of international relations for the faction that controls this part of northern Iraq, the surrender of 15,000 Iraqi soldiers took place at noon today. Several hours later, a small group of U.S. Special Forces and Kurdish fighters came into the city. But that was hours after the looting had started, after the vacuum left by these retreating Iraqi troops.
Now, there was looting in almost every government building. The buildings that weren't burned were stripped bare to the walls of anything of value, with everything carted away by people, from door frames, to furniture, to anything you can possibly imagine.
At the presidential palace, people were allowed to go for the first time and they actually -- absolutely went wild, tearing down anything they could, putting chandeliers in their cars, shattering glass, and this went on for hours as well.
At the central bank in the center of the city, there was a frenzy of people trying to get in, even as a fire smoldered in that building. They were trying to gather armfuls of cash to get out.
Now around the edges of this, people were asking, Where were the American troops? And as night fell, they were worried that it could just getting worse -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Thanks very much, Jane.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
