Annan to send team to Middle East to urge restraint

UNITED NATIONS, July 13 (Reuters) UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a three-person team to West Asia to urge all parties to exercise restraint and help defuse the major crisis in the region, a spokesman said today.

The team will first visit Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials and consult with Arab League foreign ministers meeting there on Saturday, the spokesman said. Annan was traveling in Rome today.

The team is then expected to head to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria and possibly other destinations ''as needed,'' the spokesman said.

Vijay Nambiar, Annan's political adviser, is to head the team. The other members are UN West Asia envoys Terje Roed Larsen and Alvaro de Soto.

Nambiar ''will emphasize to all parties the secretary-general's call to exercise restraint and to do whatever possible to help contain the conflict,'' the spokesman said in a printed statement.

The team would also urge all sides to respect international humanitarian law on the need to protect civilians and civilian institutions in military settings, the statement said.

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