United Nations: The United Nations has started contingency planning to meet the needs of millions of Iraqi people, who might get displaced, in case the US starts military action to disarm and oust Saddam Hussein, with the world body appealing for $ 37.4 million in aid for humanitarian supplies.

"The humanitarian side of the UN has for sometime now been doing contingency planning in the event that there's military action in Iraq. At the same time, we expect that ...UN inspections will be seized on by Iraq as a way of averting that military action," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said on December 23.

UN humanitarian agencies, which met key donors in Geneva on December 13, requested for $ 37.4 to ensure sufficient supplies of food, shelter materials, drinking water and other humanitarian items to meet immediate demands of both internally displaced persons and hundreds of thousands who might seek refuge in the neighbouring states - estimated between 4 million and 9.5 million.

The money sought is for the first phase and the world body may seek further funds later.

The UN emergency officials are said to be assuming that once the war begins oil production would be shut down and as a result, world body's oil-for-food programme collapse, leading to food shortages and disruption of transport services.

As per the programme, Iraq, under the UN Security Council sanctions for more than a decade, can sell any amount of oil to buy food, medicines and other humanitarian supplies.

The planners expect to face a major problem in distributing food and other humanitarian supplies within Iraq to internally displaced persons because of widespread disruptions caused by the war.

Those who manage to cross over to neighbouring nations would need to be cared for there. Their number could run into hundreds of thousands.

The world body has been doing the contingency planning quietly as it, apparently, did not want to send the message that it considers US military action imminent.

But he declined to give the number of Iraqis that, according to the world body's estimates, are expected to be displaced.

However, he said UN has asked for $ 37.4 million, mainly for the pre-positioning of food and other supplies.

"It is first phase planning that is being done. There may well have been thoughts given to subsequent phases with much higher numbers. At the same time, however, we have only asked for financial support for the initial phase," Eckhard said.

Asked whether he could provide details of the contingency planning, Eckhard said it is something done quietly on the side, on a background basis. "You are not going to try to excite the public environment. You are just trying to be prepared for any contingency."

PTI