Iraq agrees to receive more humanitarian aid

UN relief officials said in Baghdad that the Iraqi government on Thursday agreed to accept more humanitarian aid from foreign organizations.

The officials, who asked not to be identified, said that Iraqi Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Saadi Tu'ma revealed clearly in a meeting held recently a change in the Iraqi decision released in 1998 to accept aid from foreign organizations that are not currently present in Iraq.

The UN relief officials also stressed Iraq's drastic and urgent need for international aid.

Meanwhile, officials at the Iraqi Red Cross stressed a change in the stances of the Iraqi government concerning foreign aid. They added that these foreign organizations will be permitted to only enter certain areas, noting that this decision was taken for the interests of the Iraqi children and for the rehabilitation of Iraqi schools and hospitals.

Following the Iraqi decision of 1998, only four international relief organizations still maintained a presence in Iraq besides the UN, SANA reported.