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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday called on warring parties in the Iraq conflict to abide strictly by the rules and principles of international humanitarian law, soon after the US-led war against Iraq broke out early Thursday.
The ICRC said it will firmly extend its activities in accordance with its mandate and it relies on the warring parties to facilitate its access to all persons requiring help and protection.
The warring parties have the duty to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population are met as far as possible, it said.
The ICRC has also appealed to donors for 108 million Swiss francs (79.4 million US dollars) to cover the cost of its emergency operations in Iraq and neighboring countries for the next four months.
The ICRC said that during the acute phase of the war, it plans to focus on treatment of the those wounded in the war, prevention of epidemics, emergency repairs to water and sewage systems and provision of the most-needed relief goods to internally displaced persons.
(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2003)
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