LONDON Ñ Kurds living in the autonomous zone in northern Iraq are
said to be on the verge of catastrophe as the regime of President Saddam
Hussein is denying them food.
A report by the London-based Save the Children said the United Nations
sanctions on Iraq has "almost totally impoverished" the population of
northern Iraq. The report said Saddam is controlling food distribution
around the country, including the north.
The report was released as Saddam's agents have attempted to infiltrate
northern Iraq and set up a military base in the area. Saddam has demanded
that the military deploy anti-aircraft batteries near the Turkish border to
ward off any U.S. air attack, Middle East Newsline reported.
A large portion of the Kurds in northern Iraq, the report said, remains
dependent on relief for more than 90 percent of their food needs. The report
said that despite Saddam's policy of denying food to the Kurds, the UN
oil-for-food program is the only means to prevent starvation in the
autonomous zone. The report said most Kurds have no household assets, and
therefore nothing to fall back on in the event of a decrease in their food
rations, as they were forced to sell their possessions in order to survive
in the early 1990s.
"The irony is that while the oil-for-food program is what is keeping
these people alive, it is also what put them in this situation to begin
with," Alastair Kirk, a researcher for the charity based in Northern Iraq,
said. "Any change to the oil-for-food program needs to be very well-thought
through, as the current situation is a disaster waiting to happen."