Baghdad, Jan 19: Chief UN disarmament inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed Elbaradei flew into Baghdad after calling for greater cooperation from Iraq to avert a us-led war, a correspondent reported. Blix, head of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), Elbaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) landed at Saddam International Airport at 12:15 pm (2:45 pm IST) "Our main message to Baghdad is that they need to help us to help themselves and provide assurances to the international community that they no longer have weapons of mass destruction," Elbaradei said in Lar Naca, Cyprus before departing on a UN C-130 transport plane.

"We need proactive cooperation. We need additional documents, to be able to interview people in private. In many areas this evidence is not there yet," said Elbaradei. After a series of top-level talks with Iraqi officials, they are expected to leave Baghdad mid-afternoon tomorrow for Greece, a UN spokesman said in Larnaca, where the inspectors have their rear base.

Bureau Report