(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Sheikha Al-Loughani
KUWAIT, Feb 25 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti people on Sunday celebrate the 27th anniversary of liberating the homeland from the Iraqi troops which invaded the country in 1990.
The Iraqi occupation lasted for seven months during which all Kuwaitis at home and abroad suffered from an agonizing experience, which is still engraved in their mind.
During the occupation period, all Kuwaitis either at home or abroad sacrificed their souls for the sake of their dear homeland, in a manner which reflected the great love of the country.
Interviewing some Kuwaitis who took part in defending and liberating the country, Hamed Al-Tawheed told KUNA that he flew to the United States in 1988 to obtain a training course in information technology to join the Ministry of Defense after finishing the course.
His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who was the defense minister at that time, set a plan to help fresh graduates at the ministry be trained on automated systems.
Al-Tawheed went to say that he finished the course, which was implemented in collaboration with the US navy, in 1/8/1990, but he could not return home as the Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait one day after.
After the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah had met the then US President George Bush, it was announced the formation of international forces, consisting of several countries, to liberate Kuwait, he added.
Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States, at that time, late Sheikh Saud Al-Nasser Al-Sabah played a key role in the formation of a supportive military force from Kuwaitis in the US to provide logistic support for the US forces through involving in different American military units, he noted.
After the agreement on forming the logistic force, the Kuwaiti Embassy in Washington announced a voluntary campaign to join the force to take part in the Operation Desert Storm, he recalled.
"After registering our names, we were taken to the Fort Dix military base in New Jersey State to receive military exercises for three weeks on carrying weapons, and using eavesdropping devices and other military skills," he told KUNA in the interview.
"After being trained well, we were taken to a military base in Saudi Arabia on 17, January 1991. All volunteers were distributed to different US and British military units," Al-Tawheed explained.
He pointed out that he headed a number of volunteers worked with the first corps of intelligence of UN artillery forces participating in the liberation of Kuwait. Meanwhile, Mohammad Shehab, a Kuwaiti young man who joined the Peninsula Shield Forces during the period of occupation, told KUNA that he was in Britain in June 1990 to study English language until August 2, indicating that he was shocked when he knew that Iraq invaded the country.
"I phoned my family in the day of occupation, August 2, after that communications with them were interrupted for 10 days. Then they called me and told me that they arrived in Bahrain. I immediately left Britain and flew to Bahrain to join our family," he made clear.
He noted that he joined a secondary school in Bahrain, but at that the same time was thinking of how to serve his country in these difficult conditions.
Shehab elaborated that he joined the Bahraini army as a volunteer to take part in the liberation of Kuwait, revealing that his request was rejected as he was very young, 17 years at that time, but he insisted on joining the army to achieve this honorable mission.
"We obtained a training course for a month and then we moved to Hafar Al-Batin, a Saudi Arabian city in the Eastern Province, where a US military base is located. Some days later, the US army needed some of new volunteers who speak English perfectly. I was chosen to work as an interpreter." He went to say that they headed to the Saudi northern town of Rafha and got training courses for three weeks, referring that the US army decided to enter Iraq's Basra where they stayed for a long time until Kuwait was liberated.
"After working with the US army for a period of time, I returned home on March 22, 1991. I consider this experience as one of the largest adventures in my life as I was very young at that time. But I had a lot of experience. It is honorable that I took part in the liberation of my homeland," he concluded. (end) sha.hm
MENAFN2502201800710000ID1096513423
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.