'Game over', says Iraq UN envoy

'Game over', says Iraq UN envoy

Douri: Put up fierce resistance in the UN Security Council

The Iraqi ambassador to the UN has said "the game is over", referring to the war in Iraq.

When reporters outside his home asked Mohammed al-Douri for a statement, he said: "There is nothing to say.

"The game is over. We hope that peace will prevail and that's all that we hope."

Asked what he meant by "the game is over", he responded, "the war".

It was the first admission from any Iraqi Government official that coalition forces have largely overwhelmed Iraqi resistance.

The ambassador, who seemed terse and upset, said he could not comment on the situation of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein because he had no "relationship with Saddam".

Wednesday's TV images suggested Baghdad resistance had collapsed

"I have no communication with Iraq," Mr Douri said. Earlier, he told Associated Press Television News he had been unable to contact any government officials "for a long time".

When asked what he thought about the scenes being broadcast from Baghdad, he said: "Well I don't know really, I watch the television like you."

Mr Douri used Security Council meetings in the run-up to war to make impassioned pleas to the international community to block invasion.

He accused the US of ulterior motives in attacking Iraq.

"My work now is peace," he told reporters on Wednesday.

Choice words

Asked about the ambassador's comments, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said "it wasn't a game".

But Mr Douri's choice of words mirrors those used by US President George W Bush, who warned Iraq on 6 February that it was wasting its last chance to avoid war.

"The game is over," Mr Bush said then.