Annan demands resignations following Baghdad bomb probe

Kofi Annan has called for the resignations of senior UN officials, following the publication of a highly critical report into a terrorist attack on the UN's headquarters in Baghdad last August that killed 22 people – including the UN's top envoy in Iraq.

The Secretary-General announced a series of disciplinary measures after the probe identified "institutional and individual failures" in assessing the security situation in Baghdad prior to the bombing.

The blast destroyed the UN offices at the Canal Hotel, killing 22 people, including Mr Annan's top envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and injured more than 100 others. A second, smaller attack in September prompted the Secretary-General to withdraw all international UN personnel.

The official in charge of overall staff security, Security Coordinator Tun Myat, has been asked to resign from the United Nations, while Ramiro Lopes da Silva, his proxy on the ground in Iraq, known as the Designated Official, was asked to immediately step down from his current post as an Assistant Secretary-General in the United Nations and return to his senior post in the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

Future assignments for Mr Lopes da Silva, who also served as the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, will no longer include any responsibilities for security matters, a spokesman said.

The Secretary-General established the Security in Iraq Accountability Panel late last year to carry out an independent probe into the security of the UN operation in Iraq.

A letter has also been sent to each head of a UN fund or programme that had staff in Iraq from the date of the UN's return to the country on 1 May to 19 August, critical of their management and lack of respect for staff ceilings and security clearances applicable in Iraq.

(gmcg)