More 190 doctors ‘martyred’ since U.S. invasion, ministry says

 

By Anwar Jumaa

 

Azzaman, July 04, 2006

 

The Ministry of Health has said that 190 of its doctors have been killed and nearly 400 kidnapped since U.S. troops landed in Baghdad.

 

The Ministry’s General Inspector Adel Abdullah said the country’s medical staff’s sole target is to keep the country’s health institutions up and running.

 

“The Ministry of Health is a service institution and not a security one. We have a very limited capability to protect our staff from violence,” he said.

 

“The number of our martyred doctors exceeds 190. Nearly 400 have been kidnapped and more than 1,000 have fled the country,” Abdullah said.

 

His made the remarks during a ceremony Baghdad’s Medical City had held to commemorate the doctors who had lost their lives in the nearly three and a half years since the U.S. invasion.

 

Abdullah complained that the authorities, whether Iraqi or U.S. were not giving due attention to the protection of the medical staff.

 

“We hope that the parliament and the government will listen to our demands regarding security and protection against violence,” he said.