Kuwaitis mark 34th anniv. of Iraqi invasion, remember global support

Kuwaitis will mark on August second, Friday, the 34th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion, a grave historical happening that led the world to unite and rid the State of Kuwait of their invaders. Most countries around the world condemned the heinous crime carried out against the Kuwaiti people as the brutal Iraqi invasion resulted in incidents of death and destruction against the peaceful people of Kuwait. Those who lived in Kuwait's darkest hour will vividly remember how the Iraqi army wreaked havoc, closing vital roads and infrastructure inflicting horrors on people and destroying their properties. Despite the dire situation, Kuwaitis took a stance and rose above their adversaries, fighting back with all their might to liberate their land. Forming resistance groups tasked with fighting the invaders and providing services to the people of the country, Kuwaitis and residents alike took the helm and opposed the Iraqi army. While Kuwaitis were fighting from within, the government -- led by late Amir Sheikh Ja ber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah -- gathered international support to bring back Kuwait to its people. Permanent members of the UNSC took a unified stance and adopted by 14-0-0 vote on August second resolution 660. The resolution, "Condemns the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait; demands that Iraq withdraw immediately and unconditionally all its forces to the positions in which they were located on 1 August 1990" It called, "Upon Iraq and Kuwait to begin immediately intensive negotiations for the resolution of their differences and supports all efforts in this regard, and especially those of the League of Arab States; decides to meet again as necessary to consider further steps to ensure compliance with the resolution." In accordance with the resolution, Arab and international delegations met in Saudi Arabia to formulate a coalition to thwart the invaders, a step achieved in February 1991. Kuwait's global position as a peaceful and generous nation since independence had helped gather support for its just cause. During that period, Kuwait's volume of relief aid and assistance was high on a global scale taking into consideration that back then its GDP was at 8.3 percent. Source: Kuwait News Agency