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Cameroon opposes possible Iraq war
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (Reuters) -- Cameroon, a temporary member of the U.N. Security Council, opposes war against Iraq and thinks weapon inspectors should be given more time, an aide to the country's foreign minister said Tuesday. "Cameroon cannot support U.S. ambitions to dominate and dictate to the rest of the world," he told Reuters, warning that unilateral U.S. action against Iraq would be very regrettable. "It would be sad if it should be the world's leading power that starts the destruction process of the U.N. system," said the aide to External Affairs Minister Francois Xavier Ngoubeyou. "Cameroon is opposed to war," added the aide, who declined to be named. "We agree Iraq should be disarmed but through peaceful means." Cameroon is one of three African non-permanent members of the 15-member Security Council along with Guinea and Angola. It has been a target of lobbying by Council members before a pending vote on a resolution paving the way for war. Of the three, Cameroon probably has the strongest ties to France, which along with Germany and Russia, is lobbying members to prevent the adoption of the resolution and keep inspections going for at least another four months. Ngoubeyou said on the sidelines of last week's Non-Aligned Movement summit he had not yet made up his mind on whether to back the resolution. However, Cameroon President Paul Biya is close to French President Jacques Chirac and generally expected to fall in line with Paris. The United States and Britain are pushing the new resolution declaring that Iraq has failed to meet its obligations to dismantle banned weapons systems, which they want to put to a vote in the Council next week. Iraq denies having such weapons. Weapons inspectors are due to deliver their latest report on Iraqi disarmament Friday. "Our response was that the situation had changed, since Iraq was now cooperating with U.N. inspectors and destroying its weapons. So we think peace should be given a chance by giving the inspectors more time to complete their work," the aide said. In western Africa between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, Cameroon was formed in 1961 when the former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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