Iraqi polls in 'climate of violence' impossible

Brahimi told NRC Handelsblad in an interview published Saturday that the vote, planned for January 30, could only take place "if first and foremost security improves."

If the poll took place only in secure areas of Iraq it would exclude the Sunni minority, who live in extremely tense areas such as Fallujah and Samarra, Brahimi said.

Expressing his personal views, Brahimi issued an appeal to the international community for help in bringing order to the country, where more than 30 people died in a span of 24 hours Saturday in bomb blasts and suicide attacks.

He also criticized the United States for invading the country in March 2003 which he said had created more problems than it had solved.

"This (situation) does not work. We have to find something which does. If we let the situation get even worse, it will just become more dangerous."

The former Algerian foreign minister and top UN envoy to Haiti, South Africa and Afgh-anistan, was Secretary General Kofi Annan's special adviser on Iraq, and instrumental in helping set up an interim government there earlier this year.

BBC adds: The top US commander in Iraq has expressed concern about the ability of Iraqi forces to cope with security in the run-up to elections next month.

The head of Central Command, General John Abizaid, said Iraqi troops did not have the training or experience to do the job without extra American help.

At least 14 Iraqis died in bomb attacks in Baghdad and Mosul on Saturday.

Six American soldiers were also killed in attacks by insurgents across Iraq on Saturday, the US military has said.

The latest two deaths announced on Sunday occurred when a US patrol came under attack in Mosul. The other four were killed in Baghdad and Baquba.