Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

On Saturday 12 April the Minister for Defence launched Operation Baghdad Assist. The Operation will involve the provision of medical supplies to hospitals in Baghdad in order to relieve the humanitarian situation.

As part of an immediate response, surplus medical supplies are currently being transported from HMAS Kanimbla to Baghdad on an Australian C-130 aircraft. The aircraft is due to arrive in Baghdad today.

Overnight, medical supplies have been delivered to RAAF Base Richmond and packaged for transport. These stores have been donated by a number of organisations including the NSW Department of Health (Liverpool and Westmead Hospitals), Johnson & Johnson, Baxter and B.Braun.

Two Australian C-130 aircraft will be used to transport the supplies to the Iraqi capital. One of the aircraft will be flying via Perth, where it will collect additional specialist burns supplies. The aircraft are scheduled to depart RAAF Base Richmond this morning and will arrive in Baghdad within the next few days.

Major General Ken Gillespie, the Head of Strategic Operations, said Defence could not have achieved this response on its own. He said that the quick response was due to cooperation across a number of Government Departments including the Department of Health and Aging, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, AUSAID and the NSW Health Department. MAJGEN Gillespie said that recent experience with Operation Bali Assist meant the various Government agencies were able to respond to the task promptly and effectively.

Operation Baghdad Assist is part of the Australian Government's commitment to humanitarian assistance for the people of Iraq.