Mbeki fears "economic meltdown" if Iraq attacked

South African President Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday warned that a war in Iraq could spark an economic meltdown in Africa and set development back more than three decades.

Mbeki, who currently chairs the African Union (AU), said a Gulf War would wipe out the much-heralded New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad). He spoke out as the AU issued a strong warning about a US-led war in the Middle East, and expressed its deep concern in a communiqué marking the end of its first summit, which ended late on Monday night.

But Mbeki admitted that he did not know what African countries could do if the US decided to push ahead with attacks on Iraq.

African leaders have urged that the crisis be resolved through the UN Security Council, and that Iraq should destroy any weapons of mass destruction it may have. They called on the three African countries on the UN Security Council – Angola, Cameroon and Guinea - to try to wield their influence.

Mbeki said a war in the Middle East in 1973 left Africa with massive debts from rising oil prices, which they had still not paid off. "All of those things we are talking about - African
development, Nepad and so on - we would have to say goodbye to those," he said at a press briefing at the UN Conference Centre. "The Union believes this matter can be resolved without resort to war," he added.