Germany Offers Financial Aid to UN in Iraq

The German Foreign Ministry on Tuesday announced it would provide €5 million ($6 million) to the United Nations for work in Iraq. "The federal government is supporting in this way the central role of the United Nations in the process of reconstruction in Iraq," the statement said. Funds are intended to be used in particular to help launch elections planned for the beginning of 2005. "Given the worsening security situation, the UN's work in Iraq is only possible if all necessary measures are taken to provide the best protection for its workers," the ministry said. Berlin said the financial donation was in response to an appeal by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Germany, which opposed the US-led war to topple Saddam Hussein, refuses to send troops to Iraq. It is, however, contributing financially to reconstruction efforts and is training Iraqi police and the new army outside the country.