The story, headlined «The Tragedy of the Civilian Population,» states that «as in every modern conflict, the greatest costs of the war in Iraq are paid by the civilian population, crushed between the retreating army of Baghdad and the very severe Allied bombings.»
More than 300,000 people have left their homes in northern Iraq and sought refuge in rural areas, U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard confirmed.
According to the Vatican semiofficial newspaper, Iraq is running the risk of «a ‘catastrophe’ of enormous proportions that could extend to the whole region.»
