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From sentto-2324848-3370-1050278548-brownh=hartford-hwp.com@returns.groups.yahoo.com Sun Apr 13 21:00:07 2003
Organization: South Movement
To: southnews@yahoogroups.com <southnews@yahoogroups.com>
From: Dave Muller <davemull@alphalink.com.au>
Mailing-List: list southnews@yahoogroups.com; contact southnews-owner@yahoogroups.com
Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 09:38:20 +1000
Subject: [southnews] Basra Still Without Water, Electricity And Medical Aid

Basra Still Without Water, Electricity And Medical Aid

OANA/RIA Novisti, 13 April 2003

ABU DHABI, April 13 (OANA/RIA Novosti) -- The city of Basra in the south of Iraq continues to live without electricity, water, foodstuffs and medical aid, a correspondent of the Saudi newspaper ash-Sharq al-Awsat who has been there wrote on Sunday.

According to the correspondent, water and electricity are supplied only to several districts of the city, first of all, to the places of the accommodation of British troops.

In the daytime British soldiers patrol the streets of the city to provide security. However, at night, armed groups of looters are active in several districts of the city.

Fearful for their lives, residents prefer to sleep on roofs.

The city experienced shortage of foodstuffs while weapons seized by city dwellers from army depots are in abundance. Each family holds five pieces of arms, the correspondent says.

The city’s hospitals lack medicines, oxygen, physiological solutions, donor’s blood and elementary medical supplies.

According to the coordinator for the provision of humanitarian aid to the population of southern Iraq, six ships with humanitarian aid are currently in the port of Umm Qasr but the road to Basra is still unsafe.