ACCRA. Sept 8 : KuwaMl Foreign Minister Sheikh Salem al- Sabah al-Salem on Saturday accused Iraq of sUll holding 2.473 Kuwaiti prisoners of war. including women and children, reports AFP.

His remarks come one day after charges by the Iraqi delegation attending a ministerial session of the Non-Aligned Movement in the Ghanaian capital that Kuwait had refused to take back a number of the detainees.

Sheikh Salem denied these allegations and said Kuwait would not be asking for the return of Its prisoners and "yet refuse them."

These charges, he said, are "unacceptable to anyone who thinks."

He added that Iraq had started returning "the gold which thev had stolen from the (Kuwata) Central Bank" but that many other Items were still missing, including expensive medical equipment.

The minister said Kuwait will respect Its International commitments, adding that they had managed to put out more than half of the oil wells set ablaze by Iraqi forces who occupied the Emirate for seven months until they were driven out tn February by a US led coalition of forces.

Top prove to the world that we honour our word and we think of this world and our role in It, we have produced and exported 50,000 barrels (of oil)," /Sheikh Salem added