April 4, 2003	Friday	Safar 1, 1424

WASHINGTON, April 3: The UN children’s agency Unicef has warned the United States that bright yellow-wrapped coalition humanitarian daily rations hand-distributed in Iraq are the same colour as air-dropped unexploded bomblets.

As in Afghanistan, where the HDR was changed to blue, UNICEF said the rations yellow plastic wrap is identical to that of the BLU-97 bomblets, posing a threat to children.

The change in Afghanistan was brought about when the United Nations highlighted the dangers of presenting food in the same colour as ordinance where children can confuse the ration and unexploded ordinance putting them at risk of wounding or death.

UNICEF urged coalition forces to change the colour of the rations.

US officials have said they are changing the colour of the HDRs, but are using up the remainder of the old stock. Cluster bombs explode a short distance above the ground, scattering their bomblets over a wide area.

The bomblets are designed to explode immediately, effectively blanketing their large target area with deadly shrapnel, but sometimes they do not go off right away.

The remaining bomblets, like all unexploded munitions, pose a severe risk to anyone who comes into contact with them. Children are at risk from the soda can sized BLU-97 bomblets anyway, because the bright yellow colour can attract them, according to children’s advocacy groups. But the danger is said to be worse if the HDRs given out by troops are the same colour.