Cairo - A forthright Mrs Madeleine Albright strongly defended US attacks on Iraq's no-fly zones yesterday, Siona Jenkins reports from Cairo. "There have been 70 violations of the no-fly zones by the Iraqi regime and 20 hits or attempts to hit our pilots, and so the action by our pilots is in self-defence," the US Secretary of State said after a meeting with President Mubarak of Egypt.
"We seek compliance, not confrontation, but Iraq's questioning of Kuwait's sovereignty and its call for the overthrow of Arab governments are the most recent indications that Saddam Hussein seeks only to make trouble," she added.
She was in Cairo en route to Saudi Arabia for talks about Iraq and other Middle East issues. Her comments were made as US aircraft again attacked the Western-imposed no-fly zones, this time targeting the northern city of Mosul.