- KUWAIT (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said on Thursday that that he saw no chance of an immediate
cease-fire in the U.S.-led war in Iraq and warned all sides that they would
end up as losers.
-
- "If you are asking me whether I see any immediate
possibility of a cease-fire, I do not see that," he told the Qatar-based
al-Jazeera satellite television in an interview.
-
- "I wish we could say that there is such a possibility
for an immediate halt and that a call by the Security Council could lead
to that, but I don't see the matter that way," Annan said.
-
- "I have always said that war is a human catastrophe
and everyone will emerge a loser. I am pained by all that has happened,"
he said. His comments were dubbed into Arabic from English.
-
- Annan said he could not say how long the war would last
and reiterated that the legitimacy of the U.S.-led war was questionable.
Washington and London failed to persuade the Security Council last month
to sanction an invasion.
-
- "I have made it clear that we would have preferred
a peaceful solution and not to be forced to see what we see happening today,"
he said.
-
- He said that warring sides should take care of civilians
according to international human rights conventions.
-
- The United States and Britain launched the war against
Iraq on March 20 to topple President Saddam Hussein over his alleged weapons
of mass destruction. Baghdad denies it has such arms.
-
- Annan denied Iraqi charges that the withdrawal of U.N.
staff from Iraq shortly before the war had allowed the invasion to take
place. He said his teams would return and work with the Iraqi authorities
as soon as the situation allowed.
-
- Before the war, 60 percent of Iraqis lived off rations
from the U.N. oil-for-food program and aid officials have warned of a humanitarian
crisis unless deliveries of food, water and medicines resume soon. The
United Nations has identified over $1.0 billion of aid supplies that could
reach Iraq by mid-May.
-
- "As soon as the circumstances change, the United
Nations will return and work with the Iraqi authorities and people who
are responsible for their land," Annan said.
-
|
