British PM's comments worry Clark

1.30pm

Prime Minister Helen Clark has expressed concern that unilateral action might be taken against Iraq, saying it could lead to international chaos.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair signalled today he could be prepared to wage war on Iraq even if a number of United Nations (UN) powers vetoed a new resolution authorising military action.

Until now, Mr Blair has said he reserved the right to go to war without UN authorisation in case a singular "unreasonable veto" was wielded.

But in a debate today he appeared to extend that proviso to include multiple vetoes.

Asked if he would go to war without a new UN mandate, Mr Blair said: "If there was a veto applied by one of the countries with a veto, or by countries that I thought were applying the veto unreasonably, then in those circumstances I would".

"But we are fighting very hard to get a second resolution through and... I still believe we will get that second resolution. I don't want to go outside the United Nations."

Helen Clark told National Radio today the question was "academic" as Britain and the United States did not have enough votes to get the resolution.

But she was concerned at the prospect of New Zealand's allies by-passing a multilateral solution.

"My concern would be if what is conventionally seen as our side were to lead a move in the direction of pre-emption that may well set precedents we wouldn't be happy to see others following," she said.

"That is tending to put one judgment ahead of the collective judgment of the Security Council, which is mandated to consider those issues."

New Zealand would continue to support the principles of multilateralism, the rule of international law and the authority of the Security Council.

"If we let all that go, then a world of anarchy and chaos where powers we might not be so close to could use the precedent," she said.

Three Iraqi civilians were killed overnight when US and British warplanes bombed targets in a southern "no-fly" zone, the Iraqi military said, but the United States denied the report.

An Iraqi military spokesman said in a statement the aircraft patrolling the no-fly zone hit civilian targets in the Anbar province, killing three. It said Iraqi forces fired at the planes before they returned to bases in Kuwait.

"This is yet another example of the Iraqi propaganda machine putting out absolute untruths," Marine Captain Stewart Upton said at Central Command forward headquarters in Qatar.

"The target was in fact a military target," he said. Asked how the US military would know it had not killed civilians, Upton said: "Intelligence enables us to see the damage assessment in real time."

He repeated that coalition aircraft never target civilians.

Upton said the target was a surface-to-air missile system and an anti-aircraft artillery site.

The attacks were the latest in an increasing number of western air attacks in no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq as the United States and Britain build up a force for possible invasion.

Iraq said on Monday six civilians were killed and 15 wounded in a raid near Basra. US officials denied the Iraqi report.

Baghdad routinely describes the raids' targets as civilian, while US and British military authorities say they are only military and strive to avoid civilian casualties.

US military statements routinely say "target battle damage assessment is ongoing", but the results of these assessments are never made public.

The no-fly zones were set up after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Kurds in northern Iraq and Shi'ite Muslims in the south from Baghdad's forces. Iraq does not recognise the zones.

- NZPA, REUTERS