IRAQ CRISIS: Weekly Round-up Number 4 for April 5 - 11 2003

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

Key humanitarian developments:

As a foreseeable end to the conflict in Iraq emerged this week following the fall of the capital Baghdad to coaltion troops, and the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul to coalition and Kurdish forces, the humanitarian battle was still unfolding. With casualties mounting, hospitals overflowing, power and water cut and looting breaking out, aid agencies and the United Nations
were still struggling to get aid and staff into the country.

In the south, the port of Umm Qasr was still the only town considered safe for agencies to work in. Iraq's second largest city Basra was finally taken by British troops but then fell into scenes of chaos with widespread looting. Aid agencies and the UN expressed serious concerns about the security situation and suggested it could further delay their entry into the
country to begin work.

They called on coalition forces to uphold their responsibilities under the Geneva Convention to provide law and order in areas they were occupying. Water remained a major problem in Basra. Four out of eight water treatment plants and the raw water pumping station there have been damaged.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) technicians helped repair generators at the city's main water treatment plant but it was still only able to provide 50 to 60 percent of the city's normal water needs. Hospitals in the south remained under pressure, their work hampered by a lack of water and electricity that at times prevented them from treating patients.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) continued transporting water from Kuwait, targeting hospitals and health centres. But the ICRC and UN expressed serious concerns about towns further north, including Najaf, Nasariyah, Karbala and Hilla which workers had still not been able to access.

Even in Umm Qasr, UNICEF teams painted a seriously worrying picture. The most alarming information was the dramatic increase in diarrhoeal disease during the past five days. Doctors at the local hospital are reporting a staggering increase of children suffering from diarrhoea - this directly related to the water situation in southern Iraq. Cases last year for the month of April equalled 30, cases for the first five days of April this year already exceed 50.

Based on what they have seen, they conclude that malnutrition rates are likely to increase sharply by the end of the month all over southern Iraq due to the water situation. As American troops battled to reach the heart of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, hospitals were swamped with patients and medical supplies started running low.

The ICRC reported that some hospitals were working without power or water and up to 100 war-wounded were arriving every hour.
Looting also broke out in Baghdad with United Nations offices, hospitals and clinics being targeted. At UNICEF's offices in Baghdad - "phones, chairs, essentially everything was taken away", UNICEF staff said.

United Nations spokespeople described the situation in Iraq as "extremely critical" and "a humanitarian catastrophe".
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated there had been 470 civilians killed and 4,400 injured since the conflict began. Iraqi figures are higher.

To the north, the situation of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and refugees continued to be largely under control. A UNOPS survey this week reported a total of total of 266,000 IDPs, 89 percent of whom were living with friends or relatives. Many of these are continuing to move back to their homes. Stockpiled food in the three northern governorates was
beginning to run low, however, aid workers warned.

While over 1,600 third-country nationals (TCNs) have fled to the
neighbouring countries of Jordan, Syria and Iran following the start of hostilities three weeks ago, no TCNs had crossed into Turkey by Friday.

The outpouring of refugees from Iraq which reached approximately 2 million during the 1991 Iraq war has not been repeated, despite fears before the conflict, but aid organisations are not willing to say the threat is completely over yet. Aid shipments to the north continued to improve and since 3 April, the World
Food Programme (WFP) brought a total of 4,025mt of wheat flour into northern Iraq via Turkey.

Arrangements for the crossing of trucks at the Habur gate border point between Turkey and Iraq continued to improve significantly. On 9 April, five UNICEF trucks with 31 mt of Oil-for-Food Programme commodities and 18 World Food Programme (WFP) trucks crossed the border without problems.

Food commodities in the north continue to be available in the market, but at higher prices. However in other areas aid agencies continue to be frustrated by a lack of access for staff and supplies.

Security has been the main problem with an ICRC worker killed in crossfire in Baghdad this week and two Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) staff members still missing in the capital. ICRC representatives in Baghdad described scenes of chaos and anarchy as people took to the streets.

Another concern for aid organisations is a lack of funds for humanitarian work. A United Nations Appeal for US $2.2 billion has so far received only $387 million. WFP's $1.3 billion appeal has received less than $300 million and the agency is urging donors to support its operation.


CONTENTS:

IRAN: Population movements along border being investigated
TURKEY: Cross-border operations improving
IRAQ: Focus on Oil-for-Food Programme
IRAQ: Response to UN appeal poor
IRAQ: Interview with UN humanitarian coordinator
IRAQ: ICRC resumes work as hospitals in Baghdad endure shortages
IRAQ: Looting and insecurity may slow NGO entry
TURKEY: Economic effects of war in the southeast
IRAQ: Lack of clean water remains a concern in Umm Qasr
IRAQ: IOM continues assisting third-country nationals
IRAQ: WFP faces "largest humanitarian operation in history"
IRAN: Protection for Iraqi refugee women, says UNHCR
IRAQ: Moves to rebuild education
TURKEY: Red Crescent scales down border operation
IRAQ: Water by far the most urgent need

[ENDS]