Kurds Flee the North

By Ivan Watson,

Published March 17, 2003 at 11:00 PM CST

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with NPR's Ivan Watson in northern Iraq about the exodus of Kurds from their homes and villages, in anticipation of an American assault on the forces of Saddam Hussein. Many Kurds are heading to the relative safety of the mountains, fearing that Saddam might respond to a U.S. assault with chemical or biological weapons attacks on Kurdish areas.

Ivan Watson

Ivan Watson is currently based in Istanbul, Turkey. Following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, he has served as one of NPR's foreign "firemen," shuttling to and from hotspots around the Middle East and Central Asia.

Robert Siegel

Prior to his retirement, Robert Siegel was the senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. With 40 years of experience working in radio news, Siegel hosted the country's most-listened-to, afternoon-drive-time news radio program and reported on stories and happenings all over the globe, and reported from a variety of locations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. He signed off in his final broadcast of All Things Considered on January 5, 2018.

See stories by Robert Siegel