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UN plans to open new office in Baghdad

The UN secretary-general said the world body plans to open a new office in Baghdad to encourage cooperation between Iraq and its neighbors, but voiced strong concerns about the continuing security problems in the country.

Ban Ki-moon said he hoped "more would be done" to improve Baghdad's security as the UN builds its presence, which has been greatly reduced since an Aug. 19, 2003, bombing at its Baghdad headquarters that killed 22 people.

Ban's comments on Saturday about security -- as he sat alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki -- reflected the challenges that confront the Iraqi prime minister's struggle to stabilize the country while dealing with pressure from US congressional Democrats who are calling for the quick withdrawal of US forces.

Earlier on Saturday, al-Maliki, in pledging that Iraqi forces would take responsibility for the security of an expanded UN mission, had said that the "Baghdad of today is different from the Baghdad of yesterday."

Despite security concerns, Ban emphasized that the international community cannot turn away from Iraq.

"Its stability is our common concern," he said after a meeting that grouped top diplomats representing many of Iraq's neighbors, the US, donor nations and other groups.

Al-Maliki, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly and is scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush on the sidelines, acknowledged that the country continued to face challenges, but he said that "those following the situation in Iraq have spoken of a marked improvement [in security]."

"National reconciliation does not come about by force," al-Maliki said, referring to the effort to bring together the country's rival ethnic and religious factions.

Fighting between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, compounded by terror attacks, has largely undermined Iraq's reconstruction.

The meeting between al-Maliki, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Ban and other diplomats sought to build upon a Security Council resolution passed last month which authorized the expansion of the UN presence in Iraq.

Bringing together neighbors such as Iran and Syria also underscored the importance of a collaborative approach to stabilizing the country.
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