Tears, Fears as Iraq Seizes Kuwaiti Men

KHAFJI, Saudi Arabia —  Iraqi troops today randomly seized young men among the thousands of refugees fleeing Kuwait but let their sobbing wives, mothers and other women go, refugees said.

“My boy! My boy!” one woman shrieked, beating her hands on her chest as she described watching her 17-year-old son disappear.

“We were just sitting in the car and they put a gun to his face. The soldier said if he didn’t come now we will shoot him,” said the 45-year-old woman named Fatima, tears streaming down her face.

Aziza Abdullah, 18, cried for her 23-year-old husband, also grabbed at gunpoint from their car. “I’ve only been married a month,” she sobbed.

Refugees said busloads of men between the ages of 17 and 40 were seen being shipped north, toward Iraq. No explanation was given. Other young men were allowed to pass through.

Many refugees feared that the detained would be killed, and they mentioned the names of cousins or friends who were shot on suspicion of resisting the Iraqi occupation.

“Every five minutes there is a new rule. First the women and children can leave, but no men. Five minutes later, everyone can leave,” said a member of the Kuwaiti government committee helping screen the refugees.

The soldiers manning Iraqi border posts confiscated passports and other documents.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the confiscation of identity papers “is an ominous sign that these citizens of Kuwait may not be allowed to return to their homes.”

In Brussels, the 12 European Community nations decided today to expel Iraqi military attaches and restrict the mobility of other personnel to protest Iraqi raids last week of three countries’ diplomatic compounds in Kuwait.

Before the joint statement was adopted by the 12 nations today, Britain expelled eight staff members from the Iraqi Embassy and ordered the deportation of 23 other Iraqi citizens. Belgium restricted the mobility of Iraq’s diplomatic personnel in Brussels.