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Water and humanitarian support are not reaching Iraq yet |
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Friday, 11 April 2003 |
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Fear and chaos in Iraq is hampering efforts to bring food, water,
and medicine to the beleaguered population, say international
aid agencies. UNICEF said it had problems reaching women
and children, while the Red Cross revealed it had temporarily
stopped work in Baghdad because of the unpredictable
situation. The group CARE said the four-year drought and the
fact that only one of 13 sewage treatment plants in central and
southern Iraq has been operational since 1991 meant water
treatment facilities were struggling to cope. The World Health
Organization said Baghdads lack of clean, safe water, made
hospital surgery more of a threat than a solution, and reported
hospital electricity generators were on the point of collapse.
Despite yesterdays televised scenes of jubilation in the Iraqi
capital, fierce fighting was reported this morning in suburbs.
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