IRAQ: MOSUL HISTORY

Описание: (16 Jan 2001) Arabic/Eng/Nat

Mosul is the third largest city in Iraq and is sometimes described as the pearl of the north.

It's 600 kilometres north of Baghdad.

Many people from Mosul are Assyrians, and they speak Syrian, Aramaic and the main language Arabic.

The city has been a ball in the long drawn out game of political and military tennis between the Turks and the Persians.

The tournament reached new and dramatic heights as far as Mosul was concerned in 1743, during the famous siege of the city by Nadir Shah.

His army had already reduced the semi-independent town of Kirquq, like numerous other towns of their size, to literally nothing.

Then, the Persians moved on Mosul.

The defence of Mosul was brilliantly organised by Haji Husain Pasha, who made sure every wall was reinforced and every granary full.

Holes were punched through the walls and trenches dug by the time the canons darkened the sky by day and lit it at night.

Many people were killed.

Today history repeats itself.

The third largest city in Iraq is subject to daily bombings by U.S. war planes coming from Turkey.

At the Saddam General Hospital, doctors are treating an increasing number of child cancer cases.

Doctors say the new born babies are often born with a range of deformities.

During the Gulf War, the nuclear facility at Mosul, was Iraq's site for full-scale production of uranium feed materials.

A large variety of unenriched uranium compounds was stored on site including, uranium dioxide (UO2), and uranium tetrachloride (UCl4).

This site was heavily damaged by bombing during the Gulf war.

Inspectors have visited this facility several times and have monitored the Iraqi efforts to consolidate and dispose of the contaminated equipment and waste sludge from the site.

Domestic life has changed in the city and trade has been affected by U-S imposed sanctions on Iraq.

The people of Mosul depend on trade with other Iraqi provinces.

Recently, this has come almost to a halt.

Amna Ali, a 43 year old housewife, has told APTN of her horrific experience, when American war planes bombed her home.

She was wounded in the leg and lucky to escape with her life.

Now she lives in the same house, but it's been reconstructed.

Amna received one and a half (m) million dinars ($5850 US dollars) in compensation from the Iraqi government.

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"We have been suffering from the end of sanctions for the past ten years. And from daily air raids, which halts the markets in Mosul. I wander when this American embargo will carry on and til when will our suffering last? We are a peaceful nation."
SUPER CAPTION: Ghassan Sharif, Spice Trader

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"Iraq in general and Mosul in particular suffer from the continuation of war and sanctions and we experience them (sanctions) each and every second. We have witnessed an increasing cases of deformed children and cancer cases. We see especially see it in the newly born babies."
SUPER CAPTION: Dr Nouri Khalil, Pediatrician

SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"The plane was circling above us. We thought that it wasn't going to hit us. Suddenly we were hit as we were sitting and chatting. I lost consciousness. Now we live with the fear of our past experience whenever a war plane enters Mosul's air space we are frightened. But what can we do? We have to stay home, there is no other choice."
SUPER CAPTION: Amna Ali, Bomb Victim

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