KUWAIT, 13 December 2002 — The US Embassy in Kuwait has warned American citizens to avoid apartment buildings and public places where Westerners gather, after security incidents at one apartment complex.
The embassy said the warning was prompted by two recent incidents at an apartment complex in Kuwait with a high number of American residents. It gave no further details. “American citizens are advised to avoid apartment complexes in Kuwait where Americans or other Westerners are generally known to live or visit in large numbers,” the statement said. “Americans should also increase their security awareness at other public places where Americans and other Westerners are known to congregate and visit in large numbers, avoid them, or switch to other locations,” it said.
While the statement appeared to tell Americans to stay away from Americans, the underlying message — to exercise greater caution — was being taken seriously. “In practical terms, we can’t really isolate ourselves from each other,” said one US resident in Kuwait, who requested anonymity. “But we are all being more careful, and we don’t go out so much to hotels or restaurants.”
Kuwait, where more than 12,000 US troops are based, is a central US ally in the Gulf region and is likely to be one of the main launching pads for any attack on Iraq. A US-led military coalition drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War after President Saddam Hussein invaded his neighbour the year before. But there are mounting concerns in Kuwait that anti-American sentiment is on the rise, with analysts saying there is growing resentment among some Kuwaitis over US policies in the region. There have been a series of attacks on Americans in recent months, and Kuwait said this week it was boosting security after Saddam hailed Kuwaitis who attacked on US forces and described the US military presence in Kuwait as an occupation.
A Kuwaiti policeman shot and seriously wounded two US soldiers in November after stopping them on a highway south of Kuwait city and there have been a number of reports of shots fired at US troops training in the Kuwaiti desert. In October, a Kuwaiti teenager was arrested with 10 Molotov cocktails near an apartment complex housing expatriates and two Kuwaitis attacked US Marines training on a Kuwaiti island, killing one. (R)
