NEW YORK, 20 August 2003 — World leaders yesterday condemned the deadly bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad and expressed shock at the extent of damage caused in terms of lives lost and devastation caused.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan expressed shock and dismay but vowed the United Nations would stay on the job in Iraq. “Nothing can excuse this act of unprovoked and murderous violence against men and women who went to Iraq for one purpose only: to help the Iraqi people recover their independence and sovereignty, and to rebuild their country as fast as possible, under leaders of their own choosing,” Annan, who is on vacation in Helsinki, said in a statement issued here.

UN chief spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters the secretary-general was canceling the rest of his vacation and would be returning to New York today following the attack, which he said was unprecedented in magnitude against a UN target.

“All of us at the United Nations are shocked and dismayed by today’s attack, in which many of our colleagues have been injured and an unknown number have lost their lives,” Annan said, expressing the hope that those responsible would be swiftly identified and brought to justice.

“Most of all I hope to see Iraq restored as soon as possible to peace, security and full independence. The United Nations will make every effort to bring that about,” Annan said.

The 15-nation UN Security Council also said the blast would not deter work rebuilding Iraq. “Such terrorist incidents cannot break the will of the international community to further intensify its efforts to help the people of Iraq,” Security Council members said in a statement read by Deputy UN Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad of Syria, the Security Council president for August.

“Members of the council reaffirmed that this horrible attack that aimed at undermining the vital role of the United Nations in Iraq will not affect their determination, and members of the council will stay united against such attacks and to help the Iraqi people restore peace and stability in their country,” said the statement, issued after a closed-door briefing on the explosion.

US Resolve Unshaken: US President George W. Bush vowed that the “terrorists” behind the devastating car bombing would not shake US resolve to rebuild the war-ravaged nation. “The civilized world will not be intimidated, and these killers will not determine the future of Iraq,” he said in a hastily arranged public appearance at Crawford, Texas. “Iraq is on an irreversible course toward self-government and peace.” Speaking from his dusty Texas ranch, Bush said he had instructed Iraq’s US overseer, Paul Bremer, by telephone to provide “all possible assistance to the rescue and recovery effort” at the smoldering headquarters building.

Callous Bombing: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw condemned as “callous” the car bomb attack and said that the security situation in Iraq would be reviewed. “I am appalled by this callous attack,” Straw said in a written statement. “Whenever such outrages take place, obviously the security consequences have to be reviewed and that’s what will take place now,” Straw told journalists outside the Foreign Office.

He said he had been in touch with British members of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) who were giving assistance “to the immediate work in respect of the blast.” Britain has 11,000 troops in Iraq, less than 100 of whom are in Baghdad. Straw said the attack would not set back the coalition or the UN’s resolve in Iraq, adding that the UN was there “to stay.”

French Condemnation: France condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the deadly bomb attack and “repeated its full support for the actions taken by the United Nations in Iraq, at the side of the Iraqi people and in the service of peace and reconstruction,” according to a statement from the foreign ministry.

It added that Paris “in particular lauded the action and courage of the special representative of the (UN) secretary general, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who has been struck by this terrible attack.”

Criminal Attack: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder condemned the bombing, calling it “a criminal attack from forces that do not want the reconstruction of Iraq to be achieved in peace and freedom.” Schroeder said he had relayed to Kofi Annan his “sympathy and full support for the United Nations.”

He added his thoughts were with the victims including Vieira de Mello.

Despicable Blast: EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana condemned as “despicable” the deadly bomb blast, saying it was an attack on those helping to rebuild Iraq. “I am deeply shocked by this despicable act which is an attack against the people who are working for Iraq’s future and an attack against the international community’s determination to reconstruct Iraq,” he said.

Criminal Terror: “This is a serious, criminal terror act aimed against UN presence in Iraq,” Arab League said in a statement released at its Cairo headquarters.

“The Arab League urges all political forces in Iraq to unite and prevent such acts, which do not serve the interests of the Iraqi people, from taking place,” the statement said. The League paid tribute to the “remarkable efforts made by Vieira de Mello to help Iraq recover its sovereignty and put an end to occupation.”