Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

IRAQ: Curfews and clashes cripple Baghdad, Basra
30 Mar 2008 10:30:03 GMT
 Source: IRIN

Background

•  Iraq in turmoil

MORE >>
BAGHDAD, 30 March 2008 (IRIN) - Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) appealed to the Iraqi authorities on 30 March to facilitate their distribution of relief materials in Baghdad and Basra, 545km southeast of the capital. Both cities are under an indefinite curfew due to ongoing clashes between government forces and the Mahdi Army, the Shia militia led by Moqtada al-Sadr.

"We call upon the [Iraqi] government to allow local and international aid organisations to move during curfew time and get into conflict areas to do their job," Basil al-Azawi, head of the Iraqi Commission for Civil Society Enterprises (ICCSE), a coalition of over 1,000 Iraqi NGOs, told IRIN.

"It is a really dangerous situation and must be focused on. The clashes and curfew have highly affected the delivery of humanitarian assistance in both Baghdad and Basra. People are still in dire need of food and water and some hospitals need medicines and medical items," he said.

Al-Azawi added that Iraqi security forces prevented him on 28 March from entering Baghdad's eastern district of Sadr city, where clashes were taking place, as he was heading a team to determine the needs of residents.

Since 28 March, Baghdad has been under a round-the-clock curfew which was due to expire on 30 March but has now been extended indefinitely.

"The government must find ways to confront militants without violating civilians' human rights. These military operations have added more to Iraqis' daily suffering with shortages of drinking water, food and medicines," Al-Azawi said.

Basra conditions deteriorating

In Basra, where clashes beginning on 25 March triggered violence in the capital, local officials said an escalation of fighting and an ongoing curfew had further deteriorated the living conditions of the some 1.7 million residents there.

"Supermarkets have run out of all tinned food, dried food and bottled water while hospitals, especially those in areas where the clashes are intense - like al-Menaa, al-Shafaa and al-Ashaar - are in dire need of blood, medicines and other medical materials," Mahdi al-Tamimi, head of the city's human rights office, told IRIN.

Al-Tamimi said that many of Basra's residents were daily wage earners, who, without jobs to go to now, would have no means of buying anything and were unlikely to have stocks of supplies.

"We urgently call upon the government and UN organisations to provide drinking water, food and medicines in addition to the ambulances they have already provided to help those who need medical care get to the hospitals," he added.

Red Crescent action

Attempting to alleviate the suffering of Basra residents, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society has set up an operation room in the relatively peaceful neighbouring Missan Province to handle the distribution of relief materials to Basra.

"So far we have managed to distribute food parcels - each one containing 17 items, including sugar, rice, flour, tomato paste and milk - to some hospitals and we hope there will be a lull later today to distribute other things," Salih Hmoud, head of the IRCS provincial office in Basra, said.

sm/ar/ed

© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.IRINnews.org


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Emergencies

•  Iraq in turmoil

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  Iraq – Humanitarian situation in Basra and Baghdad
ICRC - Switzerland

•  Iraq : Five years after the start of the conflict and the fall of Saddam Hussein, the situation in most part of the country remains grim.
PU - France

•  International Medical Corps Health Alert - Iraqis in Jordan Struggle with Cost of Medical Care - Only 4% Can Afford Assistance
IMC - USA

•  The Children of Iraq: 5 Years on
World Vision MEERO - Cyprus

•  Release: 5th Anniversary Marks Continuing Struggles for Iraqi Refugees
Refugees International - USA

MORE >>

Latest news

•  IRAQ: Curfews and clashes cripple Baghdad, Basra

•  US, Iraq forces find 14 bodies in mass grave

•  FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, March 30

•  British forces set up checkpoint near Basra

•  RPT-ANALYSIS-Maliki's Basra crackdown poses risk for U.S.

MORE >>

IRIN news

Related articles

Breaking stories
IRAQ: Curfews and clashes cripple Baghdad, Basra (1 minute ago)

US, Iraq forces find 14 bodies in mass grave (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
'Contagious' wars put minorities at risk (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
Iraq – Humanitarian situation in Basra and Baghdad (1 minute ago)

Blogs
The untold story of Iraq's refugee crisis (1 minute ago)

Maps
MAP: Iraq water and sanitation sector - Feb 2008 (1 minute ago)


Country information

Briefings
Iraq in turmoil - [Who works where]

Statistics graphs
Landmine casualties (2004)
Chart for Landmine casualties
View more stats >>

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-29T160510Z_01_BAG224_RTRIDSP_2_IRAQ_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BAG224.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-29T152141Z_01_BAG221-_RTRIDSP_2_IRAQ_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BAG221..htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-29T152000Z_01_BAG220_RTRIDSP_2_IRAQ_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BAG220.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-27T220853Z_01_BAG255_RTRIDSP_2_IRAQ_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BAG255.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-03-27T220759Z_01_BAG254_RTRIDSP_2_IRAQ_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/BAG254.htm

A demonstrator holds a picture of Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during a protest in Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad March 29, 2008. About 200 demonstrators held a ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Sun Mar 30 10:35:41 2008