INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Habur Border Crossing Closed to Ocpa Contractors;

Published: Mon 7 Jul 2003 11:10 AM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS ANKARA 004243
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPT FOR NEA/NGA, EUR/SE AND PRM
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID ENRG ETRD IZ PREL TU
SUBJECT: HABUR BORDER CROSSING CLOSED TO OCPA CONTRACTORS;
SLOWDOWN IN WORLD FOOD PROGRAM SHIPMENTS
REF: ANKARA 4232 AND PREVIOUS
1. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
2. (SBU) Following the U.S. detention of Turkish special
forces in
northern Iraq, the GOT closed the lone Turkey - Iraq border
crossing at
Habur to U.S. contractors. UN traffic has also been
impacted. Kellogg,
Brown and Root's (KBR's) representative in Adana told us that
the border
closed to KBR shipments into Iraq as of 18:00 on July 4,
though the GOT
is allowing empty trucks with Turkish drivers to return to
Turkey. KBR
stopped loading benzine and LPG on July 5. About 1000 trucks
are now
idling, and another 200 to 300 are loaded with benzine and
LPG and
waiting at the border for permission to cross. KBR told us
that Baghdad
is out of LPG, though the situation is not as dire for
benzine. The
World Food Program's (WFP) Ankara representative told us that
the border
is not formally closed to humanitarian aid shipments, but the
flow has
slowed dramatically to 20 to 30 trucks daily. Empty trucks
are being
permitted to cross back into Turkey. WFP has not stopped
loading its
trucks, but might take this step on July 7, as it is
concerned about
possible demurrage charges by Turkish trucking companies.
WFP advised
that it plans to raise these issues with the Turkish MFA at a
meeting
scheduled for July 7.
PEARSON
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