THE IRANIAN
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Iran says victims of Iraqi chemical arms file case
TEHRAN, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Iranians wounded by Iraqi chemical weapons in their 1980-88 war have lodged a complaint against the weapons' users and suppliers, including several Western governments, an Iranian military official said in remarks published on Tuesday.
``A group of victims have filed complaints to international bodies calling for condemnation of perpetrators of these crimes and their accomplices, as well as demanding compensation for their sufferings,'' said Mohammad Baqer Nik'khah.
He accused the United States, Britain, Germany, France, the former Soviet Union and Spain of providing Iraq with chemical weapons.
Nik'khah, an official at the Foundation for Safeguarding the Values of the Sacred Defence, did not name the international bodies to which the victims had applied.
In remarks published in the daily Tehran Times, he said some 10,000 Iranians were killed and 50,000 wounded by Iraqi chemical weapons during the war. The foundation looks after veterans of the conflict, which is known in Iran as the sacred defence.
``The indifferent reaction of the international community towards Iraq's chemical attacks encourage this country to continue its heinous crimes against humanity,'' Nik'khah said.
``Our judiciary has failed to either pursue the case itself or to take the matter to an international forum for proper proceedings.''
In April 1997, a number of the victims staged a protest in front of the German embassy in Tehran against firms that supplied chemical weapons to Iraq.
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