THE FALL OF UM QASR: British and US commanders said yesterday they had crushed resistance by Iraqi fighters in the key southern port town of Umm Qasr, and it was now open to receive aid supplies badly needed by local people.
Brig Jim Dutton, commander of the British Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade, told reporters he hoped the first ship bringing aid to Iraq would arrive within 48 hours. Ships and divers were first checking waterways for mines.
In Baghdad, Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan dismissed claims that Umm Qasr, located on the border with Kuwait, had fallen to the US and British forces.
"They hovered around the airport of Umm Qasr but have not entered it," he told a news conference. "They have not even entered the first Iraqi town."
Brig Dutton, responsible for all British forces in the sector, said: "Umm Qasr is now safe and open and we are beginning to deliver aid, or we will be shortly. We are finding out who the local movers and shakers are, so we can get things going." He later said he hoped the first ship carrying aid would arrive within two days.
Earlier, a British military spokeswoman said the British supply ship, Sir Galahad, was due to arrive at the port last night or today with urgently needed provisions for the area's civilian population.
"The port seems to be hardly damaged at all," Brig Dutton said. "Our main concern is ensuring the waterway leading up here is clear."
It was not the first time the United States and Britain had said they had taken control of Umm Qasr.
The US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, said four days ago they had done so, but the military later admitted Iraqi gunmen were still fighting on.
Brig Dutton said US and British forces had secured Umm Qasr's ports soon after they invaded, but there had been pockets of stubborn resistance in the town itself.
As late as yesterday morning, one British officer said there were "still people running around shooting at anything and everything".
But the town was now secure, Brig Dutton said.
Maj Jeff Moulton told reporters his men had been doing low-level intelligence work in Umm Qasr, going from house to house. They had gone to the local headquarters of Iraq's ruling Baath Party but had found it deserted.
Diving teams scouring waterways adjacent to Umm Qasr said they had so far found no mines, although several had been found aboard boats.
Residents of Umm Qasr said the town had been left without water supplies or electricity, that stocks of food were running low and the market was empty.
Rear Admiral Charles Kubic, commander of the US First Marine Expeditionary Force engineers group, said US and British engineers would be fixing up power, water and sanitation and repairing buildings.
"Now that the city of Umm Qasr has been liberated, there is a lot of work to be done to get the port back operating so that commerce can begin and relief aid can be brought in," he said.