GOT REOPENS HABUR BORDER CROSSING TO OCPA

UNCLAS ANKARA 004251 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR NEA/NGA, EUR/SE AND PRM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ENRG ETRD IZ PREL TU SUBJECT: GOT REOPENS HABUR BORDER CROSSING TO OCPA CONTRACTORS, WFP AND OTHERS REF: ANKARA 4243 ¶1. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. ¶2. (SBU) Following the reported release of detained Turkish special forces in northern Iraq, both Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) and the World Food Program told us that the Habur border crossing with Iraq returned to normal operation at approximately midday on July 7. KBR advised that some 300 fuel trucks held up at the border were now being allowed to cross, and the company has resumed loading of fuel for export from Turkey. WFP also reported that the border has reopened, but that it could take as long as a week to clear the accumulated backlog of trucks. WFP reports that an 18-kilometer line of trucks is currently waiting to cross into Iraq. The U.S. Movement Control Team on the Iraqi side of the gate also confirmed that the border was apparently opened completely at about 13:00 July 7. PEARSON