BAGHDAD, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has arrived in Baghdad on a surprise visit to meet Iraqi leaders and members of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq.
Annan's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, who is traveling with the secretary-general, said the U.N. chief arrived Saturday morning for a one day visit.
Annan had been on a tour of the Middle East and Friday visited Jordan, where he saw U.N. staff and toured sites of the hotel bombings earlier this week that killed more than 50 people and injured more than 100 more.
"In a town hall meeting with national and international U.N. staff, he will express his solidarity and the thanks of the organization for the crucial work they are doing, in very trying circumstances, in assisting the Iraqi people during this period of political transition and reconstruction," Dujarric said in a statement issued in Baghdad of Annan's visit plans.
"In Baghdad, he is expected to hold a series of separate meetings with Iraqi leaders," the spokesman said.
This is Annan's first visit to Iraq since the overthrow of former President Saddam Hussein in 2003.
