Finland Times

The government has taken the decision with the Minister for Foreign Trade and Develop-ment, Kai Mykkänen in the chair, said an official press release.

“We are well aware that the situation in Mosul and in its vicinity is extremely critical and that assistance is needed urgently. Entrusting the Finnish Red Cross with the coordination responsi-bility tells about the organisation’s excellent capacity and competence in war surgery and medical care. We want to maintain and improve these skills,” said Mykkänen.

The Finnish Red Cross will use the Foreign Ministry’s support for sending both aid workers and supplies to hospitals in which persons wounded in battle in Mosul are treated. 

Mosul, which is a city of over a million residents, became a scene of fighting in October 2016. 

Since then, tens of thousands of people have become wounded, half of the injured being civil-ians. More than 200,000 people have fled their homes.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has supported hospitals near Mosul since the fighting started. The Finnish Red Cross is coordinating an extensive international operation, participated also by the National Red Cross Societies of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Canada, Japan and Hong Kong.

The humanitarian situation in Iraq continues to be extremely serious and approximately 11 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. Finland will allocate more humanitarian aid to Iraq during this year.