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Many Iraqis flee to the countryside
25/03/2003 23:22 - (SA)
New York - The United Nations has seen few refugees fleeing the war in Iraq for neighbouring states but has reports of people leaving cities for the countryside, UN spokesperson Fred Eckhard said on Tuesday.
"In the north of Iraq, the UN assesses that there are some 300 000 internally displaced people who are largely staying with relatives," he said.
The Geneva-based Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had reported "no substantial movement" of refugees across Iraq's national borders, Eckhard said.
"Inside Iraq, however, there are media reports of people moving from cities into rural areas."
International staff working for the UN and its agencies were evacuated from Iraq last week before US and British forces invaded the country from the south.
But Eckhard said "regular contacts with local UN staff indicate that a co-ordinated response is underway to meet the needs" of displaced people in the northern areas.
"Remaining foodstocks in warehouses are being distributed and local staff from the UN Development Programme are working with local authorities on the electrification of an IDP camp, designed to hold 7 000 people," he said.
Eckhard said Secretary General Kofi Annan would meet on Wednesday with the chief UN relief co-ordinator, Kenzo Oshima, and the heads of the main agencies: Ruud Lubbers of UNHCR, James Morris of the World Food Programme and Carol Bellamy of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The administrator of the oil-for-food programme in Iraq, Benon Sevan, would take part in the meeting, he said.
- AFX
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