No-Fly Zones were created by UN Security Council resolution to protect Iraqi people from their government. Coalition aircraft strikes only occur in response to Iraqi threats.
Every effort is made to avoid civilian casualties.
A United Nations spokesman said today that the Organization will continue to prepare for a new round of inspections in Iraq, as the group of experts providing guidance on the implementation of Security Council resolutions on that country opened a two-day meeting in New York. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has met with the leader of a new United Nations team of weapons inspectors being assembled to return to Iraq. Although Saddam Hussein is weaker in conventional military capabilities, he remains a threat because of his weapons of mass destruction. The government of Iraq has reopened its international airport outside Baghdad, saying it expects to receive international flights soon. As a result, there have been casualties among peaceful civilians.