Second U.N. Official in Iraq Is Placed on Leave

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations put a second senior official on special leave Tuesday in the wake of a scathing report on safety precautions before the August bombing of U.N. offices in Baghdad.

Ramiro Lopes da Silva of Portugal, once responsible for personnel and security in Iraq, had been the acting head of mission there since the Aug. 19 attack on the U.N. headquarters that killed 22 people, including chief envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Lopes da Silva and global security coordinator Tun Myat of Myanmar had asked to be relieved of their duties while a four-member team appointed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan determined “accountability at all managerial levels at headquarters and in the field” for the security failures.