"That is ultimately the responsibility of the Coalition Provisional Authority," Annan

UNITED NATIONS, August 21 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan vowed that the United Nations would not be pushed out of Iraq by the bombing of its headquarters, adding that security in the war-ravaged country is the responsibility of the occupation forces.

"If we, and others, are to be able to contribute effectively to the recovery of Iraq, it is essential that an environment of security be created in Iraq," Annan said in a briefing to the U.N. Security Council late on Wednesday, August 20.

"That is ultimately the responsibility of the Coalition Provisional Authority," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was scheduled to come to New York on Thursday, August 21, morning for talks with Annan that were expected to focus on the situation in Iraq.

A truck bomb blew up U.N. headquarters in Baghdad on Tuesday, August 19, killing at least 20 people including the Annan’s envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil.

In earlier remarks to reporters, Annan said mistakes had been made by the U.S.-led forces as well as the United Nations with regards to the security environment.

"The coalition has made some mistakes and maybe we have made some too. I don't want to get into finger pointing, but I think we are all aware that along the way mistakes have been made by all concerned."

For their part, U.S. officials have pointed out that their U.N. counterparts in Baghdad had not wanted the same kind of high-profile security that was provided for the U.S. military headquarters.

But Annan denied reports that the world body had rejected U.S. offers for more security.

"I read that and I must say I was a bit surprised," Annan told reporters.

"It is those with responsibility for security and law and order who have intelligence which determines what action was taken," he said.

"I don't know if the United Nations did turn down an offer for protection. But if it did, it was not correct and they should not have been allowed to turn it down."

Annan however argued that the question of security levels "should not be left to the protected" but to those providing the security”.

The United Nations provided security inside the compound but U.N. officials said the American military was to guard the streets around it, according to Reuters.

Security Council members issued a presidential statement condemning the attack, stressing the need for measures to strengthen the security of U.N. personnel in Iraq and reaffirming their determination to fulfill the U.N. mandate in the service of the Iraqi people.

New Resolution

"Sergio Vieira de Mello was the victim of misguided (U.S.) behavior,” Khatami

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Negroponte refused to be drawn into a judgment of the U.S. security effort, and told reporters that one possibility being considered in the wake of the bomb attack was a new Security Council resolution on Iraq.

He added there was "no specific proposal" to put on the table at the moment.

Negroponte also cautioned against losing sight of the fact that the real responsibility for Tuesday's bombing lay in the hands of "despicable terrorist elements."

In Baghdad, meanwhile, a senior member of Iraq's interim Governing Council said intelligence had been received prior to the bombing that a terrorist attack was imminent in the capital.

Ahmad Chalabi said the council shared the news with U.S. intelligence agents, but it was not clear if the information had been passed on to U.N. officials.

"To my knowledge, that information was not relayed to the United Nations, but I can't say that with 100 percent certainty," said Annan’s spokesman Fred Eckhard.

The official death toll, according to the U.N. headquarters in New York, was put at 16, although a U.N. official in Baghdad said at least 24 had been killed.

According to Eckhard, 20 U.N. personnel wounded in the attack had been evacuated to Amman, Jordan, while other expatriate staff turned down offers of voluntary repatriation.

The United Nations has already suspended operations and told anyone who wanted to leave they could do so. So far only two have volunteered.

Many others have been urged to leave Iraq for a rest "just so they can calm themselves down and better prepare themselves to resume their task," he said.

 ‘Responsible’

In the meanwhile, a top Russian official said Thursday that responsibility for security in Iraq "lies with the coalition forces" of the United States and Britain.

"Under U.N Security Council resolution 1483, these (U.S.-British) forces are obliged to maintain order in the country," Deputy Foreign Minister Yury Fedotov said.

Fedotov noted that Russia "actively backed the Security Council statement on Iraq."

Russia "believes it is important both to condemn unconditionally the terrorist attacks against U.N. workers and to stress our determination to help the Iraqi people," he said, as quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Mohamed Khatami said the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad was the result of misguided U.S. policy.

"Sergio Vieira de Mello was the victim of misguided (U.S.) behavior, which set the ground for violent actions," Khatami said late Wednesday, speaking to former Iranian prisoners of war from the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq conflict.

Khatami, whose country opposed the U.S.-led war, said the occupation of Iraq had caused an increase in "terrorism," in remarks carried by the official IRNA news agency.

"Attacking Iraq triggered a spread of terrorism and violence in the world, carrying a hefty cost for the Iraqis and the Americans," he said.

"The issue of weapons of mass destruction was only a pretext used by the United States and Britain to attack Iraq," he added. "The West has to be held accountable for this before history."

"U.S. Hegemonic Policy"

For its part, the Chinese state-run China Daily said in an opinion piece that the U.N. envoy was a victim of "U.S. hegemonic policy" in the Middle East.

It said the attacks came after a war that had been waged "without any convincing evidence and without U.N. authorization."

The U.S. and British forces launched the invasion on March 20, with no authorization form the world body, in which France, Russia and China, three veto-wielder members vowed fierce opposition.

U.S. and Britain alleged the attack was meant to get rid of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

But since the U.S. and British forces rolled into Baghdad on April 9, no such banned weapons were found in Iraq, raising suspicions the invasion of the oil-rich country was based on false pretexts.