War on Iraq May Spark off Ecological Catastrophe

The ecological catastrophe in case of a military operation against Iraq is inevitable, said the participants in the press conference "Ecologists against the War on Iraq" in Moscow on Friday.

"Tragic consequences of the war in the region, where oil and gas are produced, are irreversible," said Ivan Filimonenko, an expert of the Russian State Duma Security Committee. According to him, the war in Iraq has all chances to turn into "the world Chernobyl" because of the radiation, which is produced as a result of the combustion of hydrocarbon raw materials.

Humanity can be on the verge of extinction in 2003 because of the war on Iraq, said Yuri Shchipkov, the director of the ecological organisation "World Fund of the Planet Earth".