The degree of readiness has been increased to the second degree and the fourth degree in some of units in land, naval and air forces, Colonel Yousef Al-Mulia, also director of Moral Guidance and Public Relations in the army, said in a statement.

Such a move was taken upon directives of Kuwaiti Defense Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah in anticipation of any developments in the region, he added.

On Monday, Kuwait also moved the "Sour" and "Martyr" brigades to its northern border with Iraq to prepare for any emergency in the event of the Iraqi war.

"These measures are aimed at defending the country against any aggression," the defense minister said in an interview with the Arab Times published Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the English-language daily said military personnel affiliated to Kuwaiti land, air and naval forces have been barred from taking leave, and those on leave have been ordered to return to their duties.

Earlier in the day, the first group of forces from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrived here to join the Kuwaiti armed forces to save the country from any possible security repercussions in the area.

As tens of thousands of US troops have been deployed in Kuwait, the oil-rich Gulf state could become a launch pad for a possible war on Iraq.

Last month, Iraq vowed to retaliate against Kuwait if the United States launches a military strike against it from Kuwait's territories.

At the end of an emergency meeting held in the Saudi Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Feb. 8, foreign and defense ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) accepted a request by Kuwait to deploy joint forces of the Peninsula Shield on the Kuwaiti territories to back up its national forces.

The Peninsula Shield, created in 1986, is headquartered in Hafr Al-Baten in Saudi Arabia and equipped with advanced weaponry. Its size enlarged from original 4,000 troops to 22,000 troops at the moment.

According to joint defense pacts signed by the GCC members, the six Gulf states are committed to defending any member state from an external threat or danger.

Iraq invaded neighboring Kuwait in 1990, which triggered the 1991 Gulf War that evicted Iraqi troops out of Kuwait after a seven-month occupation

The GCC, established in 1981, is a regional political and economic ally grouping Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2003)