THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION

April 24, 2003, 5:59pm EDT
Oil Fields in Southern Iraq Begin Operation
U.S. and Iraqi engineers have began pumping oil out of the sprawling southern oil fields and into a large storage facility near Basra. Four oil industry and Iraqi experts consider the efforts to restart the Iraqi system.

Background: Iraq's Oil Reserves and Industry

April 22, 2003, 12:40pm EDT
Hundreds of Thousands Make Shiite Pilgrimage to Karbala
Exercising their new-found religious freedom, hundreds of thousands of Shiites march to the Holy City of Karbala in Iraq, in a pilgrimage long banned by Saddam Hussein's regime.

In 1977, the last time Shiites celebrated the pilgrimage, Saddam's police forces killed many on the road to Karbala. Tuesday's pilgrimage marked the first time since then that Shiites could march freely.

April 21, 2003, 9:25pm EDT
U.S. Administrator Tours Baghdad, Faces Tests
Jay Garner, the retired U.S. general appointed as Iraq's postwar civilian administrator, arrived in Baghdad on Monday to begin overseeing the country's reconstruction.

Four experts assess the tasks Garner must take on as the rebuilding and stabilization efforts begin in the war-torn nation.

April 18, 2003, 1:55pm EDT
Protests, Unrest Continue in Iraqi Capital
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of a Baghdad neighborhood Friday, demanding that U.S. forces leave the city. The protesters converged from several mosques shouting "No Bush, No Saddam, Yes to Islam," and "No to America, No to Secular State, Yes to Islamic State."

April 18, 2003, 1:01 pm EDT
Bechtel Corp. Awarded First Big Contract to Rebuild Iraq
The federal government on Thursday awarded Bechtel Corp. a contract worth up to $680 million to rebuild Iraq's transportation, power, water, and sewage systems following the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime.

April 17, 2003, 8:30pm EDT
Inside Baghdad: The Iraqi Regime's Final Days
RealAudio: New York Times reporter John Burns on his harrowing experiences in Baghdad during the final days of Saddam Hussein's regime and the current state of the Iraqi capital.

April 17, 2003, 6:01pm EDT
FBI Investigates Baghdad Antiquities Looting
The FBI announces it has sent a team of agents to Iraq to investigate the theft of priceless goods from the National Archeological Museum of Baghdad and other sites.

Update: Leaders Work to Recover Looted Iraqi Artifacts

April 17, 2003, 10:10am EDT
U.S., Saddam Opponents Move to Stabilize Baghdad
A member of a London-based Iraqi opposition group claimed to have been elected the leader of Baghdad Thursday, while U.S. military commanders made plans to restore order and repair Iraq's infrastructure.

April 15, 2003, 9:25pm EDT
Iraqi Groups Discuss Postwar Government
In the wake of the Pentagon’s announcement that major combat fighting in Iraq is over, representatives from several different Iraqi groups gathered south of Baghdad on Tuesday for a United States-sponsored meeting to discuss how to govern the country now that Saddam Hussein's regime is gone.

Update: Representatives of Iraqi groups meet in Ur.
RealAudio: President Bush discusses the economy and Iraq
RealAudio: Tuesday's Central Command briefing

April 15, 2003, 2:20pm EDT
UNESCO Announces Iraq Mission
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said Tuesday it was sending a team of experts to Iraq to assess the damage that looting has caused to the country's vast collection of priceless antiquities.

April 14, 2003, 10:40pm EDT
World Bank Chief Weighs Iraqi Reconstruction Effort
Even as American military officials were saying that the major combat in Iraq was over, international financial and humanitarian agencies were meeting in Washington to discuss efforts to rebuild the shattered Iraqi nation.

James Wolfensohn, the head of the World Bank, discusses the initial plans and what is known of the Iraqi economy in an interview with Jim Lehrer.

April 14, 2003, 10:01am EDT
Siege of Cleric's Home Ends in Najaf
An armed siege of the home of a Shiite Muslim spiritual leader in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf has ended and tribal leaders are now in control of the city, an aide to Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani said on Monday.

April 12, 2003, 2:24pm EDT
G-7 Endorses New U.N. Resolution to Aid Iraq
Finance officials from the seven richest industrial countries agreed Saturday to support a new United Nations Security Council resolution as part of a global effort to rebuild Iraq.

April 11, 2003, 12:06pm EDT
Baghdad Hospital System Crumbling, Agency Says
The growing sense of chaos in Baghdad has essentially shut down the city's hospitals, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday.

April 10, 2003, 10:08pm EDT
Iraqis, Coalition Focus on Creating an Interim Administration
As coalition forces continued to focus on military action against remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime, looting spread in areas of Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk. The chaotic situation has made the need for an interim administration more pressing.

Margaret Warner discusses the future government with Iraqis who have long worked to bring about democratic change in Iraq.

April 10, 2003, 4:26pm EDT
Shiite Muslim Leader Assassinated in Najaf
A prominent exiled Shiite Muslim leader who had just returned to Iraq was reportedly hacked to death by a mob while meeting Thursday with other clerics at a Najaf mosque.

April 9, 2003, 9:10pm EDT
Red Cross Suspends Operations in Baghdad
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Wednesday it was suspending operations in Baghdad because the city was too unstable to ensure its staff's safety.

Update: The ICRC says it's pulling out of Iraq.

April 8, 2003, 8:50pm EDT
President, Blair Say U.N. to Have "Vital" Role in Iraq
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair say the United Nations would have a "vital" role in postwar Iraq and that control of a new government would be turned over to the Iraqi people as soon as possible.

Update: The two leaders discuss Iraq's future

April 7, 2003, 6:00pm EDT
Past and Present
Jeffrey Brown reports on Iraq's history of war and how its legacy effects the battlefield today.

April 6, 2003, 10:15pm EDT
U.S. Officials Weigh Postwar Reconstruction Plans
Amid some Arab and Iraqi skepticism, U.S. officials and international leaders continue to plan for a post-Saddam Hussein interim government and reconstruction process.

Update: Officials Plan Transition to Iraqi Self-Rule
Profile: The Iraqi National Congress

April 5, 2003, 8:55pm EST
Coalition Offers Aid in Iraq's Southern Cities
RealAudio: After chaotic early efforts, coalition troops distribute food, water and other humanitarian aid in some of Iraq's hard-hit southern cities.

March 28, 2003, 5:35pm EST
U.N. Frees Billions in "Oil-for-Food" Aid
The United Nations Security Council, still divided over the ongoing military campaign in Iraq, came together Friday to unanimously agree to use billions in Iraqi oil funds for humanitarian assistance to Iraq.

Analysis: New York Times reporter Marc Santora reports from Kuwait City on the urgent need for humanitarian aid in southern Iraq.

March 28, 2003, 10:35am EST
First Humanitarian Aid Ship Docks In Southern Iraqi Port
Flanked by patrol boats and assault helicopters, the British supply ship Sir Galahad docked at the hard-won port of Umm Qasr on Friday, loaded with the first military shipment of relief aid for Iraqi citizens.

March 27, 2003, 1:10pm EST
U.S., U.K. Call For Int'l Humanitarian Effort
As coalition forces continue to bomb military targets throughout Iraq and ground forces zero in on Baghdad, the leaders of Britain and the United States called on the United Nations to restart humanitarian programs in Iraq.

March 26, 2003, 11:20am EST
Humanitarian Supplies Begin to Arrive in Iraq
The first shipments of humanitarian aid and supplies since the beginning of the Iraq war last week began to arrive at the southern port city of Umm Qasr Wednesday, as coalition forces declared safe several southern Iraqi towns.

March 21, 2003, 10:45 pm EST
USAID Prepares for a Potential Humanitarian Crisis
Ray Suarez talks to an administrator from the U.S. Agency for International Development about the humanitarian side of the war in Iraq and its aftermath.

March 21, 2003, 10:45 pm EST
Iraqi Humanitarian Needs
Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and historian Walter Russell Mead reflect on possible humanitarian needs.

March 17, 2003, 8:45 pm EST
Waiting For War
Simon Marks reports from Baghdad with signs of Iraqi citizens preparing for war.

March 12, 2003, 9:35 PM EST
The War Next Door
Elizabeth Farnsworth reports from Ankara on how the new leadership in Turkey might change Turkish support for allowing American troops on their soil during a war with Iraq.

March 12, 2003, 8:45 PM EST
The Kurdish View
Post-Gulf War conditions, including U.S. and British patrols of the no-fly zone, have allowed the Kurds in Northern Iraq to gain a large degree of political autonomy. Ray Suarez speaks with one of that region's leaders, Prime Minister Barham Salih of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan regional government.

March 11, 2003, 9:25 PM EST
Bracing For War
Simon Marks reports from Baghdad on how ordinary Iraqis are preparing for the possibility of a U.S.-led war against their country.

March 5, 2003, 9:15 PM EST
The Cost of War
Economists debate how much a war with Iraq, and the humanitarian efforts that go along with it, might cost the United States.