Relief workers put at risk if army hands out food, Brussels warns

The European Commission raised concerns yesterday over the distribution of aid by British soldiers, and suggested that troops should instead create "humanitarian corridors" to help relief workers do their job in Iraq.

So far almost no aid has been handed out in Iraq, apart from limited amounts distributed by British troops at Umm Qasr and on the outskirts of Basra.

Yesterday the United Nations said it faced its biggest food distribution challenge in its history as it launched a $1.3 bn (£0.8bn) global appeal to save Iraq from mass starvation. The UN World Food Programme unveiled a six-month plan to feed the 27 million Iraqis once the country's food stocks run out in May. James Morris, WFP executive director, admitted a prolonged war would wreck its plans and leave the country facing a humanitarian catastrophe. The UN plan would begin with a month-long programme of emergency help for millions of Iraqi refugees.

That would be followed by the distribution of food to the entire Iraqi population for three months, and then a further two months of help for the most vulnerable members of the population, such as the elderly, children and hospital patients.

But officials in Brussels warned that aid workers' lives could be put at risk if there was confusion over who was making essential supplies of food and water available. They also conceded that there were cases where it was too dangerous for charities and non-governmental organisations to operate and where troops might have to be used for a short time.

The EU humanitarian aid official responsible for Iraq, Javier Menendez Bonilla, said that the "ideal situation" was for aid to be provided by "humanitarian organisations, which are the ones that have the capacity and expertise".

Asked about Basra, he suggested that soldiers could provide security for "humanitarian corridors" which would allow aid agencies to enter the city.

The WFP wants to revive the distribution system used in the oil-for-food programme, which ground to a halt last month. The UN Security Council approved a resolution on Friday to establish a successor to the scheme.

Michael Curtis, spokesman for the European Commissioner for Development, Poul Nielson, said that, in principle, the EU opposed the distribution of aid by the armed forces. "There is a danger that there could be a blurring of the role of aid agencies and the military, and that humanitarian aid workers could become targets," he said. Mr Curtis added that there was a risk of aid distributed by soldiers being given on a preferential basis to particular groups, although there was no evidence this had been done by British soldiers.