LONDON, April 2: Iraq must be governed by Iraqis as soon as the US-led war to overthrow President Saddam Hussein is over, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday.

“Iraq in the end should not be run by the Americans, should not be run by the British, should not be run by any outside force or power,” he told MPs in his weekly question period in the House of Commons.

“It should be run for the first time in decades by the Iraqi people,” he said in a statement yet on what Iraq should look like once Saddam’s regime has fallen.

Mr Blair reiterated Britain’s determination to see that any interim post-war administration in Iraq is endorsed by the United Nations, amid concern that Washington intends to put Americans in charge in Baghdad.

Post-war Iraq should be run “by Iraqi people on basis of a broadly representative government that protects human rights and that is committed to peace and stability in the (Gulf) region,” he said.—APP