Sadr says would welcome UN back to rebuild Iraq

LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) The powerful Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said today he would welcome a planned expansion of the United Nations mission in Iraq if it was designed to help Iraqis rebuild their country.

In an interview in Britain's Independent newspaper, Sadr - whose Mehdi Army militia is in fierce conflict with American and British coalition forces -- stressed the UN must not become ''just another face of the American occupation'' in Iraq.

''I would support the UN here in Iraq if it comes and replaces the American and British occupiers,'' he said. ''If the UN comes here to truly help the Iraqi people, they will receive our help in their work.'' The UN Security Council decided earlier this month to widen the UN's mandate in Iraq, implying an increase in staff for the first time since the world body effectively withdrew from the country after a bomb blast at its Baghdad headquarters killed 22 people four years ago.

The Security Council resolution calls on the UN to take on the challenge of promoting national reconciliation and dialogue between Iraq and its neighbours.

''BRITISH HAVE GIVEN UP'' Sadr also said in the interview that British troops had been defeated in Iraq and forced by resistance fighters into a retreat from the south of the country.

Mehdi Army fighters an ''important role'' in driving the British out, he said.

''The British have given up and know they will be leaving Iraq soon,'' he said in an interview. ''They are retreating because of the resistance they have faced. Without that they would have stayed for much longer, there is no doubt.'' The British-patrolled south of Iraq has become significantly more dangerous for foreign troops since London announced in February that it would reduce troop numbers during 2007.

Forty-one British troops have died in Iraq this year, on track to exceed the 53 killed in 2003 when Britain joined US forces in an invasion to topple Saddam Hussein.

''The British have realised this is a war they should not be fighting or one they can win,'' Sadr said.

The cleric's words echoed comments by British commanders, who say Shi'ite militants are stepping up attacks to give the impression that the are driving the British out.

British military spokesman Major Mike Shearer insisted on Monday that this was a ''false impression''.

''The malign influences in the city we have always predicted would raise their game to create the false impression that they were driving us out,'' he told BBC radio. ''That is not the case.'' British troops have so far withdrawn from three of the four provinces of Iraq that they once patrolled.

In Basra, Iraq's second largest city, British troops remain in place but have pulled out of two of their three bases. They are scheduled to withdraw from their third city base in coming weeks and rebase outside the city.

Sadr warned Britons also risked being attacked at home because of London's involvement in the invasion of Iraq.

''The British put their soldiers in a dangerous position by sending them here, but they also put the people in their own country in danger,'' he said. ''They have made enemies among all Muslims and they now face attacks at home.'' Reuters NY GC1806