U.S. Congressman Arrives in Iraq for Landmark Visit
BAGHDAD, April 16 (Xinhua) --
                  
U.S. Congressman Tony Hall arrived
here Sunday evening, becoming the first U.S. lawmaker to visit Iraq
since the 1991 Gulf War.

Hall, heading a three-member delegation, arrived here at 19:17
(1517 GMT) by land from Jordanian capital Amman, and stayed at the
five-star Mansour Hotel.

At the entrance of the Mansour Hotel, Hall made a brief
statement, saying that he came to Iraq because he has heard for a
long time about the humanitarian situation here, especially the
malnutrition among the Iraqi children and the increasing mortality
rate of the children and the elderly.

He also said that his visit will mainly focus on the
humanitarian situation of Iraq, which has been under crippling U.N.
sanctions since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the primacord of the
1991 Gulf War.

"The visit is not a political visit, it is a visit of
humanitarian concerns," he added.
                          
"There are a lot of issues I want to take a look at, but the
issue of humanitarian concerns is number one," he said.

During his stay in Iraq, he will visit several places, including
hospitals and schools, in Baghdad and southern Iraq, where the U.S.
and Britain imposed a no-fly zone, with the claimed aim of
protecting Shi'ite Muslims from possible attacks by Iraqi
government.

Bombing targets in the no-fly zones in southern and northern
Iraq by U.S. and British warplanes have almost become a daily
occurrence, causing serious civilian casualties.

When asked by Xinhua if there is any plan for him to meet Iraq
officials, he said "I have not been asked to meet any top Iraqi
officials. My concern is with the Red Cross, the (Iraqi) Red
Crescent, to see what they have to show me, to see with my own eyes
and make up my own mind."

However, it has been reported that Hall is expected to meet
Iraqi Health Minister Umid Medhat Mubarak and representatives of
all international aid organizations working in Iraq.

Iraq has claimed that more than 1.5 million people, mostly
children and the elderly, have died of curable diseases due to the
decade-long U.N. sanctions.

Iraq has accused the U.S., which vehemently opposes the lifting
of the sanctions against Iraq, of using the sanctions as a tool to
contain the Iraqi regime headed by President Saddam Hussein.

Earlier this year, some 70 U.S. congressmen sent a letter to U.
S. President Bill Clinton, calling for an end to the humanitarian
crisis in Iraq by having the sanctions lifted.