- guardian.co.uk, Friday 28 March 2003 10.55 GMT
British aid agencies have signed a statement declining financial support from the government for their relief work in Iraq for fear of compromising their independence.
A declaration by the directors of Oxfam, Save the Children, Christian Aid, ActionAid and Cafod, the Catholic agency, says such aid would be inappropriate while fighting continues.
It adds: "It is impossible for armed forces fighting a war to provide impartial humanitarian assistance on the basis of need. By definition, the priorities of combatant forces are military and adversarial, not humanitarian."
In a further statement, Cafod said it "could not envisage circumstances under which it would accept money for war-related humanitarian work from any belligerent party in a war against Iraq during the fighting. Once the fighting has stopped, Cafod will reconsider its position."
The decision came as the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need warned that the situation in the country was growing critical. It said Christians had been sheltering in churches and pastoral centres in Baghdad.
Quoting a message from Bishop Kassah of Basra it said the situation in the city was "dramatic" because water and power supplies had broken down and even the most basic medicines were unavailable. "At present there is no way of getting aid supplies into this region."
