US force-feeds al-Qaeda detainees BBC News
1 April, 2002The United States has begun force-feeding two hunger-striking inmates at its detention camp for suspected Islamic militants at Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. A military surgeon said the two men were fed on Sunday via stomach tubes in an operation which proceeded "without incident".
The two men had been receiving hospital treatment for several days over their fast, now in its 31st day, which appears to be a protest at the uncertainty over their future. The detention centre houses 300 men detained by the US since the 11 September attacks in its war against terrorism.
Military doctors inserted tubes through the two men's noses and down into their stomachs, feeding them a "milkshake-like" food commonly used for comatose patients, US officials said. "It went very smoothly and without incident," said Captain Al Shimkus, the surgeon in charge of the mobile hospital at Camp X-Ray. The feeding will continue for at least seven days after which the detainees are expected to develop normal hunger pangs, he added.
US concern
The authorities said in a statement that the detainees were "refusing to eat because they wanted to go home". A spokesman, Major James Bell, said earlier that the authorities' chief concern was the two men's welfare. "We're hoping that they're considering the importance of their lives," he said. "We'll do everything we can to help them because that's a priority for us, the humane treatment of the detainees - and that includes preserving their lives."The two men are described by US military officials as the most "hardcore" of the 300 detainees, who are all suspected of links to either the international Islamic militant group al-Qaeda or Afghanistan's ousted Taleban regime. Since the start of their hospital treatment, the two have been receiving liquids intravenously.
'Against the Koran'
The detainees were nearly all captured in Afghanistan, but they are not regarded as prisoners-of-war by Washington and have yet to face trial.Major Bell said the hunger strike was not motivated by any religious consideration, but was "an individual choice". He said the camp's Muslim chaplain had tried to dissuade them from pursuing it on Saturday. "I tell them that this is wrong," said the chaplain, Navy Lieutenant Abuhena Saiful-Islam. "The Koran says that you should not do anything to harm your own body."
According to Major Bell, every other detainee ate breakfast on Saturday, although 45 had been refusing meals as recently as Thursday. He pointed out that the two who said they were still fasting might have had food passed to them by other detainees. "We don't have a 100% method of confirming whether or not an individual has eaten."