Remaining Iraqi war reparations stand at $24.8 bln: Kuwaiti official

KUWAIT CITY, Oct. 4 -- The remaining war reparations for damages caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait stand at 24.8 billion U.S. dollars, the official KUNA news agency reported Sunday.

This amount includes 10 claims, including three governmental parts, five from the oil sector and two environmental areas, said Sabeeka Al-Abdulrazzag, Director General of the Public Authority for Assessment of Compensation for Damages Resulting from the Iraqi Aggression (PAAC).

Iraq is obliged to pay 5 percent of its oil revenues in war reparations to a special UN compensation fund for Saddam Hussein's1990 invasion of its neighbor.

To date, Iraq has paid more than 27 billion dollars, around half of which went to Kuwait, the emirate badly affected by Iraq's sudden attack and the ensuing battles.

Citing the financial crisis and the large sum of money already paid, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in July called on the United Nations to write off the burden of his country's obligations.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah said in September the emirate was mulling over a UN proposal to invest the reparations in Iraq as a solution to solve the dispute between the two countries.

But the goodwill gesture has been shelved and criticized by several lawmakers in Kuwait, which sits atop 10 percent of the world's proven oil reserves.

Al-Abdulrazzag said according to the UN compensations committee, the remaining amounts will go to Kuwait every three months.

"Kuwait had received the last batch of compensations the end of July, and the next is scheduled for this month," the official said, adding the agency would continue its operation until all compensations are paid.