US and UN plot the new Iraq

Sergio Vieira de Mello: "We share the same goal"

The newly arrived United Nations special representative to Iraq and the chief American official in the country have pledged to work together to improve the lives of Iraqis.

The UN envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and US administrator Paul Bremer held their first meeting in the capital Baghdad amid fresh protests in the city against the US-led occupation of Iraq.

Both men expressed their satisfaction with their first meeting, which was held at the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and lasted for more than an hour-and-a-half.

Mr de Mello said the UN would now be broadening its presence in the country beyond humanitarian affairs into other areas, such as political and reconstruction issues.

"We share the same goal which is to empower the free people of Iraq as soon as possible," he told reporters after the meeting.

Protests against the presence of foreign troops occur almost daily

For his part, Mr Bremer said he foresaw the UN playing a vital role.

"We had a very good first meeting on the wide range of issues in which we can work together to create a democratic, independent and peaceful Iraq. We have a very good sense of mutual mission," he said.

However, Mr de Mello went on to say that the size of the UN's role had yet to be defined.

Relations between the coalition and the UN have been difficult in the past few months and it is thought friction could re-emerge as both sides seek to assert their positions in Iraq.

But the BBC's Richard Miron, in Baghdad, says that for the moment, they seem keen to forget their old differences as they set out on the difficult task of reconstructing Iraq.

'Please go home'

Tuesday's protest in Baghdad involved both Shia and Sunni Muslims, who marched on the CPA headquarters.

The Iraqis were oppressed by Saddam and want to rule themselves

Entifadh Qanbar
Iraqi National Congress

They demanded an end to body searches of Iraqi women at security checkpoints and called for the establishment of a government run by Iraqis.

While many Iraqis welcomed the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, there is growing impatience about the pace of change on the ground.

"We advise you to leave our country or you will make enemies out of us," said Shia cleric Muaaed al-Khazraji in a speech after the march.

"Please go home and we will be very grateful because you got rid of Saddam."

US troops in Baghdad and nearby provinces have been attacked by gunmen on numerous occasions since the official end of the war.

The US military said on Tuesday that an American soldier had died the day before when a checkpoint came under small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire near Balad, 90 kilometres (55 miles) from Baghdad.

New government

Meanwhile, the Iraqi National Congress (INC), an umbrella group of parties that opposed Saddam Hussein mainly from exile and was backed by sections of the US Government, has criticised new plans to choose the country's interim leaders.

The CPA had been expected to convene a national conference in July to select an interim Iraqi leadership, but US officials now say that they will instead name a political council of 25 to 30 Iraqis after consulting a broad range of Iraqi opinion.

"This government will not be effective or useful for the Iraqi people," Entifadh Qanbar, a senior INC official, told a news conference.

"Anything less than the Iraqis choosing their own interim government will not succeed. The Iraqis were oppressed by Saddam and want to rule themselves."

The INC, headed by former banker Ahmad Chalabi, is one of several major political groups briefed by US officials on the new political plan.

The groups are due to give their responses to Mr Bremer later this month, but some have already criticised the scrapping of the national conference.