UN staff arrive back in Baghdad

By Kylie Morris
BBC correspondent in Baghdad

Qazi is the UN Secretary General's new representative in Iraq

The United Nations has returned international staff to Iraq, nearly a year after a bomb attack on their Baghdad headquarters killed 22 people.

Among the dead was the Secretary General's special representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

His replacement is former Pakistani diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, who arrived in the capital on Friday

But although the UN is back in the country, the organisation is keeping a low profile.

Key conference

Mr Qazi spent his first day at work in Baghdad meeting the prime minister and president of the interim government and talking up the prospects of the national conference that is to be held on Sunday.

He called for a peaceful settlement of the crisis in Najaf and emphasised the need for humanitarian assistance to its citizens.

He was due to meet journalists but a mortar attack on the international zone kept him away.

On Sunday, 1,000 delegates to the national conference are meant to gather in the same place to elect a national assembly to support the work of the interim government.

That next step in the Iraqi political process was due two weeks ago but was deferred at the request of the UN to ensure the conference was more representative.

They will meet at a critical time.

The events of the past week - the stand-off in Najaf and mass demonstrations across seven cities in favour of the rebel leader Moqtada Sadr - have tested the stability of the interim government.

It needs some sign of progress to prove its worth.

Any assistance the United Nations mission can provide will be welcome but for the UN, memories of last year's bomb attack are still fresh.

It has brought just 30 expatriate staff and will tread carefully to ensure this time they can stay in safety.