On April 30, seven people were killed in an attack on a nomadic camp near Kuban in Ninewa. In the last incident, von Sponeck reported, shepherds were grazing their livestock on a stretch of pasture shortly before 10 a.m. when a missile struck four tents and exploded. Villagers rushed to the scene to tend to the wounded and take away the dead. As they worked, the jets returned and dropped a cluster of bombs, killing and maiming more people. In a rare admission, the U.S. military acknowledged its error, but it blamed Saddam for any casualties.
Every effort is taken to avoid any collateral damage to civilians and civilian property.
Ultimate responsibility, however, lies with Saddam Hussein. Von Sponeck says the no-fly patrols are themselves illegal. First we had a silent violation of international law. Since December of 1998, it has become a much more vociferous violation. It is not convincing to me that this is collateral damage, that the civilian victims were simply the result of an unavoidable self-defense.