Iraqis March in Funeral for 100 Children

BAGHDAD — Perched atop cars and taxis, nearly 100 small wooden caskets were paraded through the Iraqi capital Sunday in a government-sponsored funeral procession for children whose deaths Iraq blames on U.N. sanctions.

In sprinkling rain, thousands of Iraqis walked next to the caskets, shouting, “Down with America!”

“There is no God but God, and America is God’s enemy,” the crowd chanted as the coffins--many decorated with photos--moved along Rashid Street, the city’s main thoroughfare.

Iraqi officials said that the youngsters, some just babies, had died for lack of food or medicine in the preceding two days. They blamed the deaths on U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

It was not possible to confirm independently the number of children who have died or the cause of their deaths.

Also braving the rain were the U.N. arms inspectors who must certify that Iraq has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction before the sanctions can be lifted.

Iraq says that it has fulfilled the U.N. Security Council resolutions governing the inspections, but the arms inspectors have accused President Saddam Hussein’s government of hiding weapons or the means to make them.

Ten U.N. inspection teams visited 21 sites Sunday and also flew over in a helicopter for an aerial inspection, the official Iraqi News Agency said.

In New York, U.N. talks on renewing an “oil-for-food” program for a third, six-month period are to begin Thursday. Under the program, Iraq is allowed to export $2 billion in oil over each half-year to buy food and medicine. The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, Denis Halliday, has said oil exports should be increased because the money coming in does not meet Iraq’s needs.