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Basra: Humanitarian crisis feared
24/03/2003 19:20 - (SA)
Geneva - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday it feared a humanitarian crisis in the Iraqi city of Basra if adequate supplies of drinking water were not restored soon.
"I would certainly say that the water situation in Basra...is very close to what I would call a humanitarian crisis," Balthasar Staehelin, the ICRC's director-general of the Middle East and North Africa told a news conference.
"If we do not manage to re-establish the water system in Basra very rapidly to a sufficient level, we will have a major humanitarian crisis," he said.
The main Wafa al-Qaed water treatment plant on the northern edge of Basra, scene of fierce fighting between British and US forces and Iraqi defenders, has been out of action due to a power outage since Friday.
Although other plants were able to supply about 40% of usual needs, the quality of the water was poor, the ICRC said.
- Reuters
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