Jul 2 2012

5000 disabled Iraqis in urgent need of body parts in Diyala Province

By Husain al-Yaaquobi

Azzaman, July 2, 2012

There are more than 5000 Iraqis who have been disabled as a result the violence that has gripped the Province of Diyala, according to a provincial official.

Turath al-Azzawi, the province’s information officer, said the disabled were victims of car-bomb attacks, other detonating devices and violent acts which the province has been undergoing particularly in the past five years.

“There are more than 5000 disabled people (in the province) who are in need of help. The province has gone through difficult security conditions in the past five years, the thing which has resulted in in the increase of the number of the disabled,” Azzawi said.

“All these disabled people are in urgent need of help,” he added.

Diyala has for long been a stronghold of the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda whose operatives and groups still carry out violent attacks on government troops and provincial security forces.

The insurgents fought off several incursions by U.S. marines who despite their might failed to subdue the province.

Azzawi said the large number of the disabled in the province necessitated the setup of a special factory for the production of artificial body parts.

He said the provincial authorities have formally asked the Health Ministry to consider building such a factory in Diyala.

There is a factory for the production of artificial parts in Baghdad but Azzawi said demand was much higher than supply and that many of Diyala disabled could not make the trip due to their severe disability.

Diyala, of which the city of Baaquba is the capital, has seen some of the worst violence that descended on Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003-U.S. invasion.

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