The Korean National Red Cross (KNRC) said Tuesday it will dispatch a 16-member medical unit to Baghdad April 30 to provide medical assistance in the war-torn Iraqi capital for at least one month.

A KNRC spokesman said they have decided to dispatch the unit to operate there for one month in the initial stages and will later make a decision on whether to establish it in Baghdad permanently.

The decision by the KNRC to dispatch the medical unit comes after the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies asked national Red Cross societies to dispatch medical units to Iraq.