Secretary General of United Nations Kofi Annan has recommended that the Security Council extend the UN mission in Iraq by another 12 months, a letter circulated on Friday said. There are now 260 civilians and military working for the Iraq mission, whose current mandate expires on August 12. It's almost certain the council will agree to his recommendation.
The letter says that the mission, which is headed by Ashraf Jehangir Qazi of Pakistan, has expanded its work beyond Baghdad since August 2004 despite "severe operational and security constraints."
Annan said he expected the number of mission personnel to increase as new facilities opened up in Basra and Irbil.
Annan withdrew all UN international staff out of Iraq in October 2003, after two bombings at UN headquarters in Baghdad and a spate of attacks on humanitarian workers.
The first bombing on August 19,2003, killed the top UN envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others.
In August 2004, the secretary-general allowed a small UN contingent to return to Baghdad and imposed a ceiling of 35 international staffers.
The ceiling has steadily increased since then.