Sp Coy 40 Commando
Op Haven 1991
by Lt CP Moore RM

There was a knock on the door of my tent. I peered out and could hardly believe my eyes . . . two scantily clad females stood before me, their blue eyes staring at me wantonly, and what's more, they bore gifts . . . a pizza and a crate of beer. Suddenly, the silence was broken as Pavarotti’s 'Nessum Dorma' blared out over the camp tannoy and Reveille was called. Once more 1 peered out . . . no pizza, no beer, and no girls. It was 0600 in Kani Masi.

Kani Masi is a destroyed Kurdish village in the mountains of North Iraq, where the mighty 'S' have been deployed on Op Haven. The village is set in a large and beautiful valley surrounded on all sides by magnificent mountains. The stunning ridgelines that encompass Kani Masi are not only beautiful but deadly, since they are laced with anti-personnel mines. It is among these mountains that the US Special Forces Teams established camps for the refugees as they fled towards the Turkish border.  

Surg Lt frank O'Kelly RN

Our task was to establish a Refugee Movement Centre providing emergency medical aid as well as transport, food and water for the Kurds as they made the long haul back out of the mountains, into 'safe havens' and ultimately their own homes. To this end our boss Major McKinney, was given command of 370 British, French, Canadian and American personnel, includ­ing medical teams, civilian engineering and water purification experts, a platoon from the USMC, a troop from the Dutch Marines and a platoon from the Luxembourg Defence Force (commanded by a Lt Colonel).  

We created a tented camp for the military elements (christened 'Rorkes Drift', a tented camp for the civilians (known as 'Greenham Common') and a medical complex for the doctors - known as 'The Medical Complex'. In addition, we created two LS's, a 'coach park' and a stores compound for the thousands of tons of food and supplies that would be issued to the refugees. The whole area was secured by a dannert wire fence to prevent what became known as 'Kurdish Surfing'.  

Lt Tim Cook RM

Our first week was spent patrolling throughout the area and as far as the mountain refugee camps. We operated within a rifle company orbat, and succeeded in collecting the sort of intelligence about the Kurds that led one UN representative to suggest that we enter the Crisis Relief Consultancy Business.

Our patrols were well received by the Kurds, who had pitched tents over a wide area. It became most difficult to refuse extremely sweet tea or local culinary delicacies such as Nan bread. The boys learnt much about Muslim traditions and manners and even began to pick up Kurdish words and phases that delighted the locals when used. The children made the biggest impression on us. They were cute, quite often beautiful and could never resist saying 'Hello Mr'. Some looked uncannily western with blonde hair and blue eyes but all were remarkably happy despite their recent plight.  

PR Pose CSgt Tony Lang RM

As predicted, the refugees began to head towards Kani Masi as they heard news that towns such as Zakho, Sirsenk and Amadiyah had been secured. Our aim was to 'process' 165,000 before the dry season eliminated the already scarce water supplies in the mountains. After about a week we had shifted some 20,000 but another 20,000 decided that since Cani Masi was so nice and the 'neighbours' so helpful, they would stay! As it turned out, they were all waiting for the Coalition forces to move into Dahuk before they would go any further.  

Peshmerga Guerrillas at Truck stop

To deal with this problem we created a more permanent camp. Five SNCO's became liaison officers responsible for certain sectors of the camp. Each sector housed 4-5,000 Kurds and the LO had the unenviable task of distributing bread, flour, rice, oil, sugar and water as fairly as possible (a biblical story springs to mind). At its peak, the camp totaled 29,000 and our task was increasingly difficult.

Then one day we broke the good news: Dahuk was secure. Within four days the camp had emptied. Within the week the two US Special Forces camps in the mountains had emptied. We worked furiously to lead thousands of Kurds into thousands of trucks that ferried them home. In total, we moved 165,000 Kurds and one dog (christened 'Saddam').

With our initial task now complete we are understandably satisfied. The job was extremely worthwhile and the Kurds themselves are overwhelmed by the help they have received. Where next? . . . is the big question . . . any buzzes?

Crisis, what Crisis?
by Lt DC King RM

Support Company's commitment to OP Haven began in late April and lasted almost three months. We arrived at the height of the problem just as those Kurdish refugees who had survived the mountain camps began the long trek home. Our time there was divided between three separate locations, each of which presented us with its own unique set of problems and challenges and led in turn to the next until, in mid‑July, the immediate crisis had been resolved and we left theatre.

We began with six weeks at Kani Masi, where we set up and ran a refugee way station just 10 miles from the Turkish border. Although our time there has already been well reported, the results of our stay may be of interest:

Over 210,000 refugees moved through our location. We subsequently fed, watered and transported 100,000 of these on to their homes in over 3,000 truckloads.

The refugee camp around us grew from an initial 200 to 29,000 people over a period of four weeks. All 29,000 were fed and watered on a daily basis.

Over 10,000 refugees were treated in the hospital complex set up and run by the CMO, Surg Lt Frank O'Kelly. The majority of patients were children under 4 years of age suffering from malnutrition, but included problems varying from cholera to gunshot wounds.

So after six weeks at Kani Masi, the camp cleared and the flow of refugees finally tailed off 5 it was clearly time to move on. It had been a huge undertaking. In achieving it we received assistance from experts and agencies in numerous fields and from ten different countries. Our strength had at one stage risen to 370 and any success at Kani Masi was due to the high level of cooperation that we received from all involved.

So we moved south to Daudiya. This was a green field site built and manned by Y Coy 45 Cdo. We took over the location as they departed for home. With Daudiya came an excellent troop location in the village of Barmirni. Anyone in the Company who had left Kani Masi breathing a sigh of relief and looking forward to a few days rest was very soon disappointed. Both new locations were surrounded by local populations in excess of 7,000 who. although in reasonable shape, having come out of the mountain, were still living under canvas and off handouts. Work continued apace in providing medical cover, distributing food and water, building sanitation systems and organising a local system of authority and administration. Our efforts culminated in the opening by the CO of a medical clinic at Daudiya, the 'Norton Manor Clinic', which had been built by the lads. At the same time of course, security of the TAOR had to be maintained and this was achieved mainly by mobile patrolling.

Our final move was to the town of Sarsing to take over a location previously occupied by Z Coy 45 Cdo and subsequently by our Cdo HQ. Our standard of living took another jump! Sarsing really provided for us the final link in the chain. Having seen the refugees out of the hills and provided all the requirements for immediate survival at Kani Masi and ext6ded the process to include setting up a very basic system of administration at Daudiya, Sarsing was the icing on the cake. We spent much time recruiting a local Police force from all parties and religious groups and organising a fire service in the town. We also set about the local hospital with gusto and finished off by setting up a town council covering all political groups from the 15,000 inhabitants. As with Daudiya, security was rigidly maintained throughout our TAOR.

Saddam Hussein had two palaces within our area and it was these which provided us with an interesting additional task. They were guarded by members of the Iraqi Republican Guard who ran a daily food convoy between the two palaces. We were to escort this convoy and to ensure that no arms were being smuggled with the food. When we began. we found the Iraqis extremely arrogant and possessing a nasty habit of sneaking into local villages to put pressure on the inhabitants. By the time we left. they were considerably less arrogant and quite happy to spend their evenings in front of the TV.

So all in all, we were extremely fortunate. We oversaw and assisted the entire refugee chain all the way through and in several cases watched individual families move from one end to the other, their condition improving all 'the time. In that respect the task was

exceptionally gratifying. We also saw many sights, particularly initially, that will remain in our memories for a very long time. We in turn were watched with great interest by press from many countries and subsequently received some excellent PR at home.

We asked a great deal of our Marines in a role which changed on a daily basis and for which they are not normally trained. There can be no denying that at times it was frustrating and tedious but they never once failed to produce a good result. By the time we left theatre, we had achieved all that it was possible to achieve in assisting the refugees. It was without doubt due to the outstanding efforts of the men.