A delegation of Arab trade unionists is set to fly to Baghdad from Damascus on Thursday in an act of solidarity against the decade-old UN sanctions against Iraq, according to a statement from the International Confederation of Arab Unions.
The delegation, made up of people from several countries, will inaugurate a school in Baghdad named in honor of Mohamed al-Durra, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy whose televised shooting death in the Gaza Strip last month riveted the world.
The communiqué did not say whether the organization had sought approval from the United Nations sanctions committee for making the flight.
It also did not say what the nationality of the airplane would be, though flights recently from Damascus have been abroad Syrian Arab Airlines.
A long list of Arab countries have tested the embargo, following Russian and French flights, since the reopening of Baghdad's airport on August 17.
Paris and Moscow say the air embargo, part of the sanctions regime, does not cover private non-commercial flights. Washington and London insist all flights must be approved by a UN sanctions committee.
Iraq has been under sanctions since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait – DAMASCUS (AFP)
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