Free Republic

GENEVA (AP) -- The international Red Cross said Wednesday it would continue giving first aid training and kits to Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, despite drawing angry e-mails from around the world and criticism from an Afghan official after the practice was publicized. The International Committee of the Red Cross trained "over 70 members of the armed opposition" in first aid last month, along with more than 100 Afghan police and civilians, including taxi drivers.

SOUTHERN IRAQ (AFP) - Three US troops were wounded , one seriously, after Iraqi soldiers used a Red Crescent ambulance to stage an attack in southern Iraq (news - web sites), an AFP correspondent reported. The Iraqi troops in Monday opened fire on a group of American soldiers who had approached the ambulance at a town north of Nasiriyah. The seriously injured soldier would be evacuated, while two others were undergoing surgery at a captured air base, a US air force source said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross accused coalition forces yesterday of failing to follow the Geneva Conventions in their treatment of prisoners of war. As British and American anger over the parading of five American soldiers on Iraqi television continued unabated, the ICRC said the allies and the Iraqis should re-examine the way they handled PoWs. Referring to Article 13 in the third convention, Florian Westphal, from the ICRC, said PoWs should at all times be humanely treated, protected particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against "insults and public curiosity". He referred to photographs in the media...