British forces claimed on Friday morning that Iraqi troops holed up in the southern city of Basra were shooting down people who were trying to flee the city.
A British military spokesman told BBC that the Iraqis were using heavy weapons like mortars to put the people down.
The spokesman claimed that the British were trying to send ambulances
into Basra to help the injured people.
These reports, however, could not be independently confirmed.
Meanwhile, a Royal Navy auxiliary ship, Sir Galahad, is heading for the port of Umm Qasr with 232 tonnes of aid after the Royal Marines claimed to have cleared a narrow path in the Persian Gulf leading up to Iraq's only deep-water port.