Relief agency sees no sign that us-led security crackdown is working
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The suffering of Iraqi civilians is worsening and there is no sign yet that a security crackdown in Baghdad is bringing relief, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday. Hospitals were stretched to the limit by daily mass casualties, malnutrition was on the rise and power shortages were becoming more frequent around Iraq, the relief agency said.
“The suffering that Iraqi men, women and children are enduring today is unbearable and unacceptable. Their lives and dignity are continuously under threat,” said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, the ICRC’s director of operations.
“It’s clear for us that the humanitarian situation is steadily worsening and affecting in one way or another, directly or indirectly, all Iraqis today,” he told journalists.
He was speaking at the launch of an ICRC report entitled “Civilians Without Protection – The Ever-Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Iraq,” which highlights the plight of civilians four years after the regime of Saddam Hussein was toppled.
Iraq: civilians without protection
The ever-worsening humanitarian crisis in Iraq
Full report: (PDF file/960 k)