IRAQ: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed concern about civilians in the Iraqi city of Falluja, where sewage is flowing in the streets and hundreds of bodies apparently lie in a warehouse since a US assault.
The Swiss-based humanitarian group will provide tools and equipment to carry out basic repairs on damaged water treatment facilities and the sewage system, a spokesman, Mr Florian Westphal, said.
No date was set for delivery, but it was vital to restore the city's clean water supply to prevent disease, he said.
A team of seven ICRC Iraqi staff, including engineers, entered Falluja on Tuesday for the first time since the assault by 10,000 US troops backed by Iraqi units began on November 8th.
US estimates say some 1,600 rebels, including foreign Islamists and Iraqi Sunni Arab nationalists, were killed in the city in the volatile western Anbar province.
"Our team was told by the US army that there are several hundred dead bodies in a warehouse in the city," Mr Westphal said, adding that the ICRC team was unable to see the site, later described as a cold storage facility.
"Obviously it is something we will follow up with a view to ensure that any human remains are properly identified, and families are informed," he said.
ICRC officials also saw sewage flowing in some streets, according to the spokesman. Raw sewage and a lack of clean water can pose a public health threat, including diarrhoeal diseases.
The ICRC staff, who travelled from Baghdad for the day to Falluja, held talks with local water and sewage board officials, as well as US army officials and the Iraqi National Guard.
But they were unable to determine how many civilians remain in the city of 300,000 residents.
"They saw very few people, but apparently most are staying indoors," Mr Westphal said.
Falluja also lacks a functioning health facility as the hospital lies on the city outskirts and is difficult for people to access, according to the ICRC spokesman. A small clinic set up in a mosque in the city was believed to have some limited supplies.
More than 70 US Marines died in the offensive to retake Falluja from rebels. Fighting is still going on in the city in some areas.
US Marine Cpl Wassef Ali Hassoun, who disappeared in Iraq in June and later turned up in Lebanon claiming he had been kidnapped by militants, has been charged with desertion, the Marine Corps said.
After a five-month investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Cpl Hassoun "is alleged to have taken unauthorised leave of the unit where he served as an Arabic interpreter," the service said in a release from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Cpl Hassoun was also charged with loss of government property and theft of a 9mm military pistol. The charges will now be considered by an as- yet-unnamed investigating officer to determine if he will be court-martialled.
Cpl Hassoun has not been arrested and will continue performing normal duties, said a spokesman for the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade.