UN seeks private interview with Iraqi individual, but he insists on witness

United Nations weapons inspectors in Baghdad today attempted to interview privately an Iraqi citizen but were unable to do so when he brought along another individual.

"Due to his insistence on having this witness present during the interview, no private interview took place," said UN spokesman Hiro Ueki.

Meanwhile, a team of missile experts from the UN Monitoring, Inspection and Verification Commission (UNMOVIC) visited the Waziriyah Industrial Complex, a research and production centre dedicated to development and production of gyroscopes and guidance systems. The team sought clarifications on the present status of the Al Samoud ballistic missile guidance and control activities as well as on information submitted by Iraq, Mr. Ueki said.

Another missile team visited the Al Mamoun Factory, which manufactures composite propellant and performs the casting of the Al Fatah and other missiles and rockets. The team addressed questions concerning information submitted by Baghdad, catalogued equipment and continued an ongoing capability assessment, according to the spokesman.

Separately, UNMOVIC missile experts visited the headquarters of the Al Raya General Company, which Mr. Ueki described as "a material and metallurgic research centre dedicated to researches in plastic, ceramic and catalytic materials."

Germ warfare experts from UNMOVIC inspected three sites: the Department of Biotechnology at the College of Science, Saddam University, and the Department of Biology at the College of Education, Baghdad University, as well as the Eastern Distillery Company, all located in Baghdad.

An UNMOVIC chemical team visited the Al Shaheed State Company, which produces copper and brass, while other experts inspected the Tuz Airfield and interviewed the senior officer present

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is probing Iraq's clandestine nuclear programme, inspected the Tho Al Fiker industrial machining and manufacturing facility and the Colleges of Science and Engineering at Saddam University in Baghdad. Specialists from the IAEA also performed a motorized radiation survey southeast of Baghdad.