Iraq's Neighbors Want UN To Play Bigger Role

Kuwait City, 15 February 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Foreign ministers from Iraq and neighboring countries have called on the United Nations to play a bigger role in postwar Iraq.
The two-day conference in Kuwait City involved ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and Bahrain. The ministers said the UN, among other things, could help Iraq draft a new constitution.

The meeting came amid heightened tensions in Iraq following insurgency attacks in the past week that killed more than 120 people.

Today, U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer said foreign fighters could be responsible for the deadly attack yesterday in the town of Al-Fallujah. He told the U.S. ABC network the attack fits the pattern of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

Meanwhile, Iraqi police have captured former regional Ba'ath Party chairman Muhammad Zimam Abdul Razaq. He was one of 11 fugitives remaining on the U.S. "most wanted" list of the former regime of deposed President Saddam Hussein.