10A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN NEWS THURSDAY,APRIL 10,2003 Iraqis welcome coalition celebrate Saddam's fall The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq — Their hour of freedom at hand, jubilant Iraqis celebrated the collapse of Saddam Hussein's murderous regime yesterday, beheading a toppled statue of their longtime ruler in downtown Baghdad and embracing American troops as liberators. "He killed millions of us," said one young Iraqi, spitting on one of countless portraits of Saddam scattered throughout the capital. Men hugged Americans in full combat gear and women held up babies so soldiers riding on tanks could kiss them. Iraqis released decades of pent-up fury as U.S. forces solidified their grip on the city. Marine tanks rolled to the eastern bank of the Tigris River; the Army was on the western side of the waterway that curls through the ancient city. Looting broke out in the capital as Iraqis, shedding their fear of the regime, entered government facilities and made off with furniture, computers, air conditioners and even military jeeps. "We are not seeing any organized resistance," said Navy Capt. Frank Thorp at the U.S. Central Command. "The Iraqi military is unable to fight as an organized fighting force." There was continued combat in cities to the north, though where government troops were under attack from U.S. and British warplanes. The scenes of liberation in Baghdad unfolded as the Pentagon announced that 101 American troops had died in the first three weeks of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Another 11 are missing and seven listed as captured. The British said 30 of their troops were dead. There are no reliable estimates for Iraqi casualties, although an Army spokesman said 7,500 prisoners had been taken. The medical system was overrun with civilian casualties in Basra and Baghdad, cities where fighting has been fiercest. Doctors said 35 bodies and as many as 300 wounded Iraqis had been brought to the al-Kindi hospital in the capital Tuesday. Saddam's whereabouts remained a mystery, especially so since a bombing Monday night on a building where U.S. intelligence officials believed he and at least one of his sons were meeting. Russia's Foreign Ministry denied that the Iraqi leader had taken refuge in Moscow's embassy in Baghdad. There was scattered fighting in the capital, including at Baghdad University, where Iraqis were cornered, the river at their backs. There were clashes in the northeast part of the capital, as well as sporadic sniper fire. Fires burned in the city after dark — the Ministry of Transport and Communication was ablaze and gunfire persisted. Increasingly, American and British forces were turning their effort to humanitarian assistance in the southern part of the country, and their firepower on northern regions not yet under their control. Arafat, new leadership debate selection of new government The Associated Press JERUSALEM — The newly appointed Palestinian prime minister delayed naming his government yesterday because of a dispute with Yasser Arafat over who should be in charge of the region's security forces. Prime minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas' delay came as five Palestinians, including a 16-year-old boy, were killed during clashes with Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip. The two events were not related. The choice for the post of inte rior minister could determine the credibility of a new government, which Western mediators and Israel hope will crack down on Palestinian militants. Abbas favors former Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, who also is backed by international mediators and is seen as likely to try to rein in militants. Arafat wants to retain his longtime aide Hani Al-Hassan, who has served as interior minister for months but has made no serious move toward reforms, officials have said. Forming the new Cabinet is a condition for the publication of a U.S.-backed "road map" to Palestinian statehood. Abbas asked Arafat yesterday for a two-week extension and Arafat agreed, said Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdeneh. Abbas had been expected to name the Cabinet today. In an apparent reflection of the incoming premier's positive image, Abbas and Arafat met yesterday with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the first senior government minister to visit Arafat since Israel destroyed most of his compound last year. North Korea not condemned despite United States request The Associated Press UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council expressed concern yesterday about North Korea's nuclear program but failed to condemn its withdrawal from a global weapons treaty as the United States demanded because of Chinese and Russian opposition. U. S. Ambassador John Negroponte said the United States was satisfied with the outcome of the 90-minute, closed-door meeting. He said the Bush administration still sought a peaceful solution to the nuclear standoff and he expressed hope that Pyongyang would not reject diplomatic efforts to address its nuclear program. At the heart of the dispute is North Korea's insistence on direct talks with the United States and the United States' insistence that the problem be addressed in a multilateral forum including countries threatened by Pyongyang's nuclear program. China, Russia, the European Union and Secretary-General Kofi Annan have tried to get North Korea and the United States to the negotiating table. U. N. envoy Maurice Strong said "sufficient progress" was made in bridging the gap between the sides and there was no reason to delay a meeting. As he hurriedly left yesterday's meeting, China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Yingfan said, "I think it was a good discussion. All the efforts are being done, and will continue, to promote political dialogue — that's what I stressed." The United States was seeking council approval of a statement condemning North Korea's withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of global efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons. North Korea has warned that any Security Council action against it would undermine attempts to peacefully resolve the crisis. It also warned that it would regard U.N. sanctions against its isolated regime as a declaration of war. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated in October, when the United States said North Korea admitted having a secret nuclear program. Doctor alleges SARS cover-up under-report of cases by China The Associated Press BEIJING - A prominent Chinese doctor yesterday charged that the mainland government covered up details of the spread of SARS in Beijing, and an American man with the disease was declared dead in Hong Kong. Other parts of Asia nervously invoked extra precautions to contain severe acute respiratory syndrome, which has infected around 2,700 people globally and killed at least 106. The accusations of a government cover-up from Jiang Yanyong, retired chief of surgery for a Beijing military hospital, came as news surfaced that one of Beijing's hospitals had shut down because of SARS. that there were 106 cases of the disease in Beijing — more than five times the figure announced by authorities. The Health Ministry reports four deaths and 19 cases in Beijing. Jiang said doctors and nurses at two other hospitals told him at least seven deaths had occurred in their hospitals and Doctors and administrators reached by telephone at the hospitals cited by Jiang refused to comment. World Health Organization investigators said they met with Health Minister Zhang Wenkang and Vice Premier Wu Yi yesterday, discussing "the concern that there are many rumors and no clear answers," said Henk Bekedam, the WHO representative in China. "They definitely said they will be following up ... and with this high level of commitment, very soon we'll get some real answers," Bekedam said. At the People's Armed Police General Hospital In Beijing, a receptionist who answered the telephone said the facility had closed five days ago after staff members fell ill. She wouldn't give her name. A sign blocking the hospital entrance said, "Adjustments being made inside, treatment temporarily suspended, entry forbidden." Meanwhile, James Salisbury, a 52-year-old U.S. citizen and English instructor at a polytechnic institute in Guangdong province, was taken from a hospital in the border city of Shenzhen to Hong Kong, according to a family friend. sansbury's 6-year-old son, Mickey, was taken to Tuen Mun Hospital and was in stable condition, said a government representative, Josephine Yu. A friend of Salisbury's, David Westbrook, said Salisbury had been ill for about a month but thought he had the flu and only sought treatment nine days ago. 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