In a statement issued through his spokesman, Annan said he deplored "the catastrophic losses to Iraq's cultural heritage that have occurred in recent days and weeks."

He urged the Iraqi people to return any looted items and called on the coalition authorities to "act immediately to prevent further losses by protecting Iraq's archaeological and religious sites, museums and other cultural institutions."

Annan also joined the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in calling on Iraq's neighbors, international police and leading actors in the art market to join forces with UNESCO to prevent trade in stolen Iraqi objects.

"Iraq's cultural treasures bear witness to an invaluable legacy for all humanity, and their loss is a wound inflicted on all human kind," he said.

About 30 Iraqi and other experts are due to meet at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris on Thursday to assess losses of the country's cultural heritage.

Baghdad was plunged into chaos and anarchy after the US forces seized the city last week. In the last few days, looters plundered and damaged some 170,000 archeological items in the national museum in Baghdad.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2003)