IAEA Media Advisory 2003/2301 (23 January 2003)
News Update on Iraq Inspections
2003 |UNMOVIC IAEA Press Statement on Inspection Activities in Iraq. 23 January 2003
For full coverage, see the pages on IAEA and Iraq.
23 January 2003 -- An UNMOVIC team of
missile inspectors flew by helicopter to the Al Kindi Research facility,
400 km north of Baghdad, located in the northern No-Fly Zone. This
was the first such flight since an agreement was reached on the
procedures during the high-level meeting on 19-20 January. The team
was met at the site by four inspectors from the multidisciplinary
team based in Mosul. This was also the first time that a joint inspection
was conducted by teams arriving from separate UN bases, using different
modes of transportation. The Mosul team drove to the site.
A second UNMOVIC missile team inspected the Taji Resin Establishment,
40 km north of Baghdad.
An UNMOVIC chemical team continued its rebaselining of the Al Qa
Qaa complex for the sixth day. The complex is a large site. A metal
analyzer was used during the inspection.
An UNMOVIC biological team inspected the Department of Biology of
the College of Science at Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad. Another
biological team inspected the Medical College of the same University
to verify the Iraqi declaration.
The main multidisciplinary team based in Mosul visited the Kirkuk
Airfield and inspected the munitions bunkers, storage areas, administrative
buildings, aircraft hangers and utilities.
An UNMOVIC multidisciplinary team based in Baghdad was in the vicinity
of Basra, where it inspected the UR State Establishment for Engineering
Industry. The team updated the activities of the factory.
One IAEA team inspected the Ashakyli Stores of the Iraqi Atomic
Energy Commission. Radiation surveys were performed, using portable
instruments. Equipment under IAEA seals was checked, as was the
status of other equipment in storage. A second IAEA team performed
inspections in the Basra area.
To set the record straight, there was no inspection at the Al Nidaa
Mosque in Baghdad. A group of four UN inspectors visited the mosque
in a private capacity on Sunday, 19 January, when they had a day
off. All they wanted to do was to walk around the mosque, but were
invited to go inside. The sheik of the mosque, assisted by his interpreter,
then gave them a tour of the mosque. During the tour, the UN staff
asked a few questions about the mosque, as any tourists might do.
These questions were like: "How old is the mosque and when
was it built?" "How many worshipers can it hold?"
and "How many show up on a normal Friday?"
The sheik and his staff were very cordial. This sheik was not the
person, who gave a press conference on 22 January.
Hiro Ueki
Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad
