AAM: "It appears the situation is rapidly deteriorating for these beleaguered men."


Length: 1:48

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Michael updates last night's report about the contract workers brought to Iraq and then stranded with no jobs and no way to leave. The situation is indeed deteriorating rapidly.



KIRAN CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." It's a disturbing story from Iraq. Foreign laborers duped by a U.S. Defense Department subcontractor into coming to Iraq for nonexistent jobs, then being forced to live in deplorable conditions. CNN's Michael Ware is live in Baghdad. He's been telling their story and looking into this more for us.

Hi, Michael.

MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Yes, it's as if there wasn't enough misery in this war. What we're seeing is this dreadful situation with more than 1,000 Asian contract laborers brought to Iraq for jobs that didn't exist. And the situation as we're hearing may be deteriorating rapidly. But I'll give you more on that after we see what this is all about.



WARE: And that scrutiny is taking place, with eyes now turned to this camp, indeed, even at this hour, Kiran. What we've heard is that overnight, within hours of us leaving that compound, buses tried to ferry 160 workers to the airport itself. However, after months and months without pay and being interned, these men who are amongst the poorest of the poor, are less than penniless. So there's few options for them.

Then we heard reports from inside the camp that they'd been told their food and water would be cut off on Monday, and now we've just had more reports from inside the camp that Iraqi police have arrived at the camp and according to a text on my phone, they've surrounded it. We're now attempting to confirm to see whether that's true or not. Either way, it appears the situation is rapidly deteriorating for these beleaguered men -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Wow. All right. Michael Ware, the developments coming in fast and furious due to your reporting in part. Okay, thank you so much for that.

Michael also did an earlier report, which I missed due to a cable outage. The transcript:

MICHAEL WARE: And this appalling crisis here in the midst of the war zone in Iraq continues to lurch along. Overnight we had reports from inmates within this worker's labor camp and they are telling us that buses showed up in the middle of the night to drag 160 of them to the airport without receiving any money or any assistance whatsoever. The workers did not get on the buses and now they are telling us that they are being told by the site manager at the camp that their food and water is going to be cut off on Monday. So, someone is going to have to do something about this --Kiran. KIRAN CHETRY: Well, it's great that you are bringing attention to that situation. That is appalling to say the least. Michael Ware for us this morning in Baghdad. Thank you.


MICHAEL WARE: And this appalling crisis here in the midst of the war zone in Iraq continues to lurch along. Overnight we had reports from inmates within this worker's labor camp and they are telling us that buses showed up in the middle of the night to drag 160 of them to the airport without receiving any money or any assistance whatsoever.

The workers did not get on the buses and now they are telling us that they are being told by the site manager at the camp that their food and water is going to be cut off on Monday. So, someone is going to have to do something about this --Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY: Well, it's great that you are bringing attention to that situation. That is appalling to say the least. Michael Ware for us this morning in Baghdad. Thank you.