NGOs refuse to respond to US pressure

Aid agencies working in Iraq have said they would not be influenced by statements made by the US when it comes to making a decision on continuing to operate in the country. Their reaction follows a US call urging aid agencies not to pull out after a series of bomb attacks across the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Monday which killed at least 34 people and injured 200 more, making this the highest death toll in one day since the regime of Saddam Hussein was toppled six months ago. "The needs for us are very clear, and we will continue serving the people and make assessments of the security situation on an hour-to-hour basis, but we strongly disassociate ourselves from any such statements made in that direction," the Medecins Sans Frontier's (MSF) operations manager for Iraq, Marc Joolen, told IRIN from Belgium on Tuesday. "What concerns us is the mix between the military and humanitarian work, which has added to the danger". MSF started working in the northwest of Baghdad at the start of 2003 and provides medical consultations for some 12,000 Iraqis per month, covering 180,000 people through three medical centres. MSF's view was echoed by the US-based NGO, CARE. "What they [the US] say will not influence our decisions. We will make our own decisions, and it's not a question of reacting to statements," Alina Labrada, a CARE spokeswoman, told IRIN from Washington. "What are they [coalition forces] going to do to facilitate the work of humanitarian agencies in safety, that is the question," she said. Labrada said CARE was still evaluating security and that a decision to pull out would be "utterly drastic". "The aid community does not want to leave Iraq, but we do need to be able to operate in a secure environment, and the needs of the Iraqi people is our priority," she stressed. On Monday, the US issued its reaction which has raised eyebrows within the aid community who have been calling for greater security: "Their work is needed. And if they are driven out, then the terrorists win," US Secretary of State Colin Powell said in reference to aid agencies according to a BBC report. In what was described as one of the most shocking of targets in Iraq, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) building was attacked with an apparent suicide bomb, which exploded in front of the office at around 08:40 local time (05:40 GMT), killing 10 people. Aid agencies have already scaled back staff following the 19 August suicide bomb attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad that killed 23 people. Meanwhile, the UN condemned Monday's attacks, including those on three seperate police stations, with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan describing it as a "crime against humanity". "The Secretary-General deplores the targeting of the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Baghdad. The ICRC is a universally respected humanitarian organisation. Its neutrality and impartiality are the mainstays of its operations. Today's attack on it is a crime against humanity," said a statement by a UN spokeswoman, Marie Okabe.