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Chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix said on Saturday it was apparent that the US-led forces had so far found no evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq.
In an interview with Swedish Radio, Blix said the chemical weapons protective suits and gas masks found by coalition troops in Iraq several days ago could not prove that Iraq had WMD.
"One must ask how old these clothes are. They may have been there for a long time," he said. "In any case, they haven't found any weapons yet."
Blix spearheaded UN weapons inspectors back to Baghdad last November after four-year absence in Iraq. However, all the arms inspectors were ordered to pull out of Iraq shortly before the United States launched military invasion on March 20.
The chief UN inspector also pointed out that the coalition troops appeared to have underestimated Iraq's military strength.
"It's hard to avoid the impression that they are encountering much more resistance than they had counted on," he said. "It appears as if it will take longer than the military had assumed."
Blix added he planned to resign from his current post as the chief UN inspector in June this year and return to research and writing.
(Xinhua News Agency March 30, 2003)
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