Rome (Fides Service) - Twelve years of sanctions on Iraq have left their mark: between 14 to 16 million (2/3 of the entire population) depend in the monthly distribution of food supplies; health services, electricity and water systems are inadequate. An attack on Iraq would certainly cause a humanitarian disaster. At present the local Catholic community is considering adapting the 87 churches all over the territory to serve as air raid shelters for civilians, with supplies of water, food and blankets and first-aid kits. A delegation of Caritas Internationalis has just returned from a fact finding trip to Iraq. See Statement Caritas Italy in Italian only (Fides Service 22/11/2002)