Iraq Urges UN to Condemn US, British Air StrikeIraq on Sunday demanded the United Nations condemn the US-British air strike on Friday evening.In a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and president of the UN Security Council, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammad Said Al-Sahaf demanded a "rapid response" from them to condemn the joint US-British air raid against the areas near the Iraqi capital. Sahaf urged Annan and the Security Council to shoulder their responsibilities to safeguard Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity according to the UN Charter. The Iraqi foreign minister is expected to lead a high-level delegation to the UN headquarters at the end of this month for a dialog with the UN. Iraq has said that the scheduled dialog will go on as planned in spite of the bombardment by the US and Britain. US and British warplanes on Friday evening bombed Iraqi communication and air defense targets outside the no-fly zones, killing two people and injuring 20 others, Baghdad said. This was the first air strike against Iraqi sites outside the no-fly zones since the new US administration headed by President George W. Bush took office about one month ago. Bush has vowed to continue to enforce the no-fly zones, imposed over norther and southern Iraq by the US-led Western alliance after 1991 Gulf War to contain Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. |
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