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Iraq hikes food rations in preparation for war
Baghdad, Dec 28: Iraq has increased in recent months the food rations given to families, in preparation for any US-led attack, and is going to continue the process, the country`s trade minister said today.
Baghdad, Dec 28: Iraq has increased in recent months
the food rations given to families, in preparation for any
US-led attack, and is going to continue the process, the
country's trade minister said today.
On top of the one monthly ration of such non-perishables, three extra rations have been distributed, Mohammed Mehdi Saleh said. And the announcement of a fourth extra ration will be made in January.
These steps fall within the plans the trade ministry and other ministries have initiated "in preparation for an eventual aggression against our country," he said.
"Our situation and capacities are generally better than in 1991" on the eve of the Gulf war, in which a US-led coalition drove Iraqi occupation troops out of neighboring Kuwait.
The United Nations slapped a trade embargo on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait the previous year, and that embargo has severely hurt the economy. It is through rationing that most families meet their basic nutritional needs.
More than 10 million of Iraq's estimated 25 million population suffers from malnutrition, with the average daily consumption of calories having dropped to 2,033 from 3,581 before the embargo was imposed.
Bureau Report
On top of the one monthly ration of such non-perishables, three extra rations have been distributed, Mohammed Mehdi Saleh said. And the announcement of a fourth extra ration will be made in January.
These steps fall within the plans the trade ministry and other ministries have initiated "in preparation for an eventual aggression against our country," he said.
"Our situation and capacities are generally better than in 1991" on the eve of the Gulf war, in which a US-led coalition drove Iraqi occupation troops out of neighboring Kuwait.
The United Nations slapped a trade embargo on Iraq after it invaded Kuwait the previous year, and that embargo has severely hurt the economy. It is through rationing that most families meet their basic nutritional needs.
More than 10 million of Iraq's estimated 25 million population suffers from malnutrition, with the average daily consumption of calories having dropped to 2,033 from 3,581 before the embargo was imposed.
Bureau Report