/ 1 January 2002

Mandela, Gaddafi discuss Iraq issue

Libyan leader Moammer Gaddafi and former South African president and Nobel peace prize winner Nelson Mandela spoke by phone on Saturday on the possible US military strike on Iraq, official Libyan sources said.

The conversation touched on ways ”to protect the Iraqi people” from any aggression, one source said.

Gaddafi has come out firmly against any US plan to attack Iraq.

For his part, Mandela warned the United States on Thursday against any unilateral action on the global stage.

US President George Bush warned in a speech to the UN General Assembly Thursday that US action against Baghdad was ”unavoidable” unless the United Nations disarmed Iraq.

On Friday, Bush urged the United Nations to fix a deadline for action against Iraq in ”days and weeks”. – Sapa-AFP