Several hundred wounded Iraqis have been admitted to Baghdad hospitals after US-led troops reached the city and fighting erupted in the streets, the International Committee of the Red Cross has said.
"The situation in Baghdad is getting increasingly difficult now that there's fighting in the city," Red Cross spokesman Florian Westphal told Reuters by phone on Saturday from the ICRC's headquarters in Geneva.
"There are now substantially more wounded in the hospitals (in Baghdad). Previously it was an average of about one hundred every day, yesterday alone it was several hundreds," he said.
Westphal said Red Cross workers in Baghdad had visited four major hospitals on Friday. "They said there were hundreds of injured, not just from the bombardments, but also from the fighting."
He said it was impossible to say whether the wounded were civilians or soldiers.
Westphal said the Red Cross' priority was to ensure hospitals had enough water and electricity. "Many hospitals now have to rely on their emergency systems and we're helping to beef those up or repair them where necessary," he said.