Annan to name interim Iraq envoy

Mountain will take over until a permanent envoy is appointed

The UN Secretary General is to name a New Zealand official as his new interim envoy to Iraq, UN diplomats have said.

UN sources said Ross Mountain, a veteran humanitarian aid official, will temporarily replace Sergio Vieira de Mello, killed in a bomb attack on the UN's headquarters in Baghdad in August.

Mr Annan has been under pressure to name a new Iraq envoy and has said he will do so early next year.

The UN pulled its staff out of Iraq following a spate of attacks.

Veteran aid worker

Mr Mountain is currently the UN assistant emergency relief co-ordinator and director of the UN office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva.

De Mello was killed in a car bomb attack

He has travelled to war zones in Africa, the Middle East and Asia and has been at the forefront of relief operations in countries there.

Mr Annan is expected to officially appoint the interim envoy on Wednesday.

He will also release a report on his assessment on the future of UN operations in Iraq.

Last month, Mr Annan said the UN was considering whether to establish a regional office in either Jordan or Cyprus to monitor activities in Iraq.

Helping from outside

The secretary general said while Baghdad was still not secure for UN staff, the UN is examining ways to help the country from outside.

He said "there are things that we could do even from outside, offering advice, steering things right and going in and going out."

Last month, Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish leader and member of Iraq's Ruling Council, sent letters to Mr Annan and the UN Security Council.

He asked for a bigger UN role in Iraq and outlined the timetable for the handing over of power to the provisional government and general elections in 2005.

Mr Annan said he would study the council's request.