8 million Iraqis need urgent aid

9.30.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 1st Aug 2007

Liberal Democrats at the London rally against war in Iraq

According to a report by Oxfam and the NGO Coordination Committee in Iraq, one third of the Iraqi population needs emergency aid because of the humanitarian crisis caused by war and ongoing violence. The report disclosed that around 8 million Iraqis are in urgent need of water, sanitation, food and shelter. It also warned of a humanitarian crisis that had escalated since the 2003 invasion.

This report is the latest confirmation of the desperate state that Iraq is now in. Soldiers are under daily attack and the civilian death toll rises at a horrific rate. Given the lack of progress, and the government's continued failure to influence US strategy, the time has come to set a date for the full, orderly withdrawal of British forces.