ANKARA - Turkey plays an important role in sending rapidly urgent humanitarian aid to Iraq and the United Nations (U.N.) personnel's redeployment to that country.
Issuing a statement, the U.N. recalled that it had to withdraw its personnel from Iraq on March 18 and stated that the U.N. was getting prepared currently to redeploy its personnel to Iraq and resume humanitarian aid program.
The statement said that Turkey played an important role in rapid transfer of urgent humanitarian aid to Iraq as a corridor and the U.N. personnel's redeployment to that country as a transition point and pointed out the importance of Habur border gate.
It was expected that flow of urgent humanitarian aid from Turkey to Iraq would increase in the coming weeks by further functioning of humanitarian aid distribution web in Iraq and close cooperation of Turkish authorities, the statement noted.
Aids which have been sent to Iraq through Turkey within the scope of the United Nations since March 31 are as follows:
''-Over 442 World Food Programme (WFP) trucks delivered more than 13,000 metric tons of wheat flour to Dahuk, Irbil and As Sulaymaniyah.
-16 trucks crossed the border with $1.5 million worth of a wide variety of health and education supplies provided by UNICEF.
-A UN security assessment team entered Iraq to assess the prospects of an imminent return of UN staff.
-The NGO International Medical Corps crossed into Iraq to assess the possibility of supporting UNICEF's health programme.
-The number of WFP trucks which were carrying food stuff to Iraq from Habur reached 173 only on April 17.''
Meanwhile, the WFP has purchased over 43,000 metric tons of wheat flour and more than 80,000 metric tons of various food commodities in Turkey inclusive of sugar, pulses, vegetable oil and high energy biscuits.
WFP has entered into contracts with eight Turkish transport companies for deliveries to Iraq.
(EÖ-GC-AY) 18.04.2003