UK envoy sees security gap in Iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, October 17, 2003

UK envoy sees security gap in Iraq

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British envoy to Iraq Jeremy Greenstock identified Thursday dangerous gaps in security in Iraq, calling on the occupying forces to speed up efforts to tackle terrorists and loyalists to Iraqi former President Saddam Hussein.

"There is a continuing security challenge and we have to redouble our efforts to meet that," Greenstock, who has spent the past month in Iraq, told reporters in London.

"There are a number of gaps that need to be plugged. I do not believe that having open borders or having ammunition dumps around the country open to theft, open to the world, helps to dampen down the violence," Greenstock said.

"We are expecting still some difficult months ahead in terms of sheer terrorism and the ability to plant bombs and fire weapons at us ...their brutality goes a long way down into soft target areas. They do not seem to mind who they kill," the former British ambassador to the United Nations added.

Greenstock told reporters that although security had improved in the south and central part of Iraq, there were still problems in Baghdad and in what he referred to as the "Baathist triangle" to the north east and north west of the capital.

Greenstock, who said Britain and the United States want to "get Iraq in a stable position and get Iraq back in the hands of Iraqis as soon as possible," also urged the coalition forces to accelerate their efforts to train Iraqi police and develop an effective border force.

His comments came as the United Nations Security Council on Thursday voted unanimously for a US draft resolution on the future of Iraq, which has seen unrelenting violence and attacks on the coalition forces.

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