UN warns US to tread carefully in siege city

THE United Nations envoy helping to draft an Iraqi interim government told the Bush administration yesterday to "tread carefully" in besieged Fallujah and avoid alienating an already angry populace.

As for Najaf, one of the holiest cities of Islam's Shi'ite sect that also is under near siege by US forces, Lakhdar Brahimi warned of a disaster if American soldiers enter the city to hunt down a radical cleric.

"This is a city with a lot of history. It is charged with a huge, huge quantity, if I might, if that's the word for it, of history," Mr Brahimi said yesterday.