| Iraqi officials are imposing a 12-hour travel ban out of Baghdad every night from now. The ban will operate from 6pm to 6am local time. "It has been decided that there will be a ban on the movement of vehicles and people until further notice," an announcer said on state TV. Until the news of the ban, there had been a large number of people and cars moving out of Baghdad, even at night. Worn out by days of bombing, thousands of Iraqi civilians left the city yesterday. They trudged to relative safety behind US military lines or else headed north away from the American advance. Western news reporters watched the exodus. They said men, women and children walked for hours through the fierce heat of the day. Most were carrying nothing more than a plastic bag, blankets or kettle between them. |