UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed confidence on Thursday that Iraq could build a better future with international help just moments before flinching at the sound of a nearby mortar attack.
True to form for top diplomatic visits to the most dangerous capital on earth, Ban's visit went unannounced until he touched down on the first leg of his first visit to the Middle East since taking office three months ago. Following talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, UN chief praised concerted efforts by Baghdad and the international community for a better future.
"I'm confident that we'll be able to see in the near future, a more prosperous and secure and politically and democratically healthier future of the Iraqi people and government," he told a joint news conference. But just moments after Ban said the United Nations may bolster its presence in Iraq, a mortar round landed in a garden 40 metres away.
After a brief pause, during which Ban recovered his composure after an involuntary flinch, the interpreter continued to translate Ban's remarks into Arabic and both men took more questions. "As we see an improvement in the situation on the ground I'm considering to increase the presence of the United Nations," Ban had said.
The loud blast sent a column of smoke and dust into the sky near the northern edge of the Green Zone, opposite the Jumhuriyah Bridge in Baghdad in a heavily policed area near Maliki's office.
Ban said a conference hosted by the United Nations in New York last Friday underscored a "strong commitment of the international community to see Iraq more united and more prosperous and more democratic."
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