Fence-cutting on Kuwait border points to invasion plan

Further signs of preparation for war emerged along the border between Iraq and Kuwait yesterday as it was reported that holes wide enough to accommodate tanks were being cut in the fence separating the two countries.

As United States and British troops continued to arrive in the emirate in increasing numbers, unidentified workers were spotted by United Nations observers cutting seven gates in the fence that marks the border – a demilitarised zone for the past 12 years.

At the same time, General Sir Michael Jackson, commander of British forces in the Gulf, said his troops would be ready for action in just a day or so.

News of the fence-cutting came as the UN Security Council was given a report alleging numerous violations of the zone in recent days. Many of the violations have been blamed on US soldiers acting outside regulations laid down by the UN.

Fred Eckhard, a UN spokesman, said workers had been seen dressed in civilian clothes and driving four-wheel-drive vehicles. "At least some of [them] were armed and identified themselves as US Marines," he said. A US military spokesman in Kuwait had no immediate comment.

A UN mission spokesman, Daljeet Bagga, said the work was carried out by civilian workers, but he had no explanation as to why gaps had been made in the fence or on whose orders. "The gates take some time to install, but they would have done it by today, I'm sure," he said.

Mr Bagga said US soldiers – tens of thousands of whom are gathering in Kuwait for a possible strike against Iraq – had been spotted on the Kuwaiti side of the DMZ in the past few weeks, most recently on Tuesday when four US troops carrying small arms and in plain clothes told UN observers they were testing communications gear there.

The DMZ, stretching 6 miles into Iraq and 3 miles into Kuwait, is only supposed to be entered by UN personnel as well as Kuwaiti and Iraqi border guards, carrying only handguns, in their respective zones.

Observers said two US military all-terrain "Humvee" vehicles had been spotted in the zone on Monday carrying two soldiers equipped with M-16 rifles. Three of the vehicles with 11 US personnel aboard equipped with machine-guns had been spotted in the zone on 26 February, Mr Bagga said.

The cutting of the fences in possible preparation for a strike by US and British forces is one of an increasing number of signs suggesting a readying for military action. Major General Buford Blount III, commanding officer of the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division, said months of training in Kuwait had ensured his troops were ready for any such push.

"We have learned some lessons in Afghanistan and we have Air Force [personnel] embedded in the division. We have a very integrated team now," he said. "We had some problems in Afghanistan, and [we] have worked hard to solve these."

Despite this, the general said the prospect of Saddam Hussein using chemical or biological weapons was a real threat. "The potential use of chemical weaponry, or biological weaponry is my biggest concern," he said.

US and British forces total almost 300,000, a number that gives General Tommy Franks – the man who will control any war – the full range of tactical options. US forces include the "Screaming Eagles" – the 101st Airborne division, the 82nd Airborne and the 3rd Mechanised Infantry division, as well as 20,000 Marines from the 1st Expeditionary Force.

British forces include 4,000 Royal Marines and special forces, 16 Air Assault Brigade, and the reinforced 7th Armoured Brigade – the "Desert Rats". Troops have also been dispatched by Australia and Denmark, while Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have sent chemical clean-up specialists.

The role of Kuwait as the launching pad for the likely war has become more important since the failure to secure an agreement from Turkey to base US troops there.

Turkey beefed up its forces on the border with Iraq yesterday, sending hundreds of trucks and dozens of tanks and artillery pieces to the frontier. Some 300 trucks and 200 other vehicles left military barracks near the south-eastern province of Sanliurfa early yesterday and rumbled toward the border, military sources said. The trucks were carrying M-47 tanks, ambulances, Jeeps, self-propelled howitzers and other pieces of artillery.

The move comes amid tensions between Turkey and Iraqi Kurds who live in an autonomous zone across the border. Turks and Iraqi Kurds could be key American allies in the event of war.

A US Undersecretary of State, Marc Grossman, cautioned Turkey yesterday against sending troops into northern Iraq without a coalition. "We oppose a unilateral Turkish move into northern Iraq," Mr Grossman said in an interview with the Turkish television station CNN-Turk.

Commanders at the Pentagon still intend to launch a northern front in the event of war, however, flying in airborne troops from either Kuwait or from ships stationed in the Gulf. The main thrust of tanks and armoured vehicle will still come from Kuwait.