(AKI) - The International Committee of the Red Cross has appealed for an extra 3.7 million dollars in emergency aid to help refugees affected by conflict in Pakistan. This represents a 25 percent increase over the initial 2008 budget of 14.6 million dollars. The ICRC is working to provide aid for 60,000 people affected by the armed conflict involving government forces and armed opposition groups in two volatile border regions - the North West Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. "The situation is evolving rapidly and remains unpredictable. In order to address the needs of the people who fled the fighting, we need to be able to move quickly and be flexible," said Pascal Cuttat, head of the ICRC delegation in Pakistan. "We are expanding our support for hospitals dealing with large influxes of war-wounded people. But we have to be ready to do more."
| "The ICRC reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law. The parties must respect and protect persons not, or no longer, taking part in hostilities, civilians and the wounded, sick or detained." |
The ICRC has already distributed essential items such as tarpaulins, blankets, hygiene items and cooking pots to people arriving in improvised camps or staying with host families in Lower Dir and Mardan in the NWFP,
It is now distributing food to the displaced but warns that large numbers of people living in makeshift camps and public buildings are under constant threat of waterborne disease. The ICRC has therefore made it a priority to provide water and sanitation services. "The ICRC reminds all parties to the conflict of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law," said Cuttat. ''In particular, the parties must respect and protect persons not, or no longer, taking part in hostilities, civilians and the wounded, sick or detained."
The ICRC has been working in Pakistan since 1981 and currently employs 427 staff in the country, including 46 international staff.