¡¡¡¡WELLINGTON, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- New Zealand is committing 3.3million NZ dollars (about 1.65 million US dollars) in emergency humanitarian relief to address the human costs of war in Iraq, Foreign Minister Phil Goff and Aid Minister Marian Hobbs said Thursday.

¡¡¡¡"The money will be distributed to a number of United Nations agencies and relief organisations active in Iraq," Goff and Hobbs said in a press release.

¡¡¡¡The two ministers made the announcement following the United States and its allies launched a war against Iraq Thursday, which was opposed by the the New Zealand government.

¡¡¡¡They said, "The United Nations has warned that without immediate assistance from the international community thousands oflives could be lost, and our initial commitment will be aimed at addressing those concerns."

¡¡¡¡"Key needs will be for emergency shelter, food and medical carein an environment where, according to the United Nations, hundredsof thousands of people may be displaced, and infrastructure and services destroyed," the ministers said.

¡¡¡¡Relief agencies predicted that up to 1.4 million people may tryto flee Iraq, and that many of those people will require urgent help. Another two million are expected to leave their homes and remain within Iraq, on top of 1.1 million who are already internally displaced.

¡¡¡¡Goff and Hobbs said that to help meet these needs, New Zealand was providing one million NZ dollars (about 500,000 US dollars) tothe World Food Program, and half a million dollars each to the RedCross, the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN's children's agency, UNICEF.

¡¡¡¡"Further sums of 300,000 NZ dollars will go to both the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and to the UN demining agency UNMAS, and 200,000 NZ dollars will be givento selected non government organisations operating within Iraq."

¡¡¡¡"The allocation of 3.3 million NZ dollars is up front assistance and focuses on emergency relief to save lives," the press release said.

¡¡¡¡It said that in the aftermath of the conflict, New Zealand willhave a role to play in areas such as mine clearance and peacekeeping, and on reconstruction and development assistance, which will involve additional financial assistance.

¡¡¡¡"We will also consider requests for assistance in areas such asmedical personnel and air transport for delivering aid supplies," said the press release.

¡¡¡¡International community support for ordinary people in Iraq during and in the aftermath of war will be vital to minimising human suffering and casualties, Goff and Hobbs said in the press release. Enditem