Sunday Herald - 29 June 2003

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BRITISH soldiers fear they could be acting illegally while serving in Iraq and could face war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court.

Their fears are exacerbated by the row in Britain over whether or not the government exaggerated the threat from Saddam Hussein to persuade the nation to support military action.

Soldiers believe that if the government did lie, or misrepresent the case for war, then the occupation and any actions taken by serving soldiers in the Gulf would be illegal and could leave them open to prosecution.

British officers and squaddies are concerned that there are no clear rules of engagement for dealing with civilians and that firing on civilian rioters could see them charged with war crimes. Last week, six British soldiers were killed in Majar al-Kabir by Iraqi rioters after using baton rounds to defend themselves.

A senior military source told the Sunday Herald that British operations in Iraq were a grey area which has not been cleared up to the Army's satisfaction.

'The International Criminal Court has the power to bring to trial individual soldiers and their commanders if there is evidence that a war crime has been committed against a civilian,' the source said.

'While this is unlikely, as we have our own system of checks and balances, it does concern our guys, as it is often impossible to differentiate between armed civilians and soldiers.

'Now that we're in the peace making phase, the problems are more acute and the issue is becoming more blurred.'

His fears chime with those of Stephen Solley QC, an international human rights lawyer, who warned before the invasion of Iraq that 'no-one has made a legal case for war'.

British soldiers moved back into the town of Majar al-Kabir yesterday. Some 50 light and heavy armoured vehicles moved into the town as four attack helicopters hovered overhead. The soldiers were met by a group of Shia clerics and prominent town officials in a peaceful ceremony aimed at putting the acrimony in the past and quelling Iraqi concerns that the British planned to take revenge on the town for their comrades' deaths.

Meanwhile, two American soldiers who had been missing for a number of days from their checkpoint north of Baghdad were found dead yesterday. Their bodies were discovered 20 miles north-west of the Iraqi capital.

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