His view on a war on Iraq was on record, and he did not believe it was necessary to comment again, the spokeswoman said.

"He feels he said what was necessary to be said and he won't be issuing a statement," she was quoted by the South African Press Association as saying.

Mandela has repeatedly criticized the United States and Britain for their stance toward Iraq, and stated he would continue to speak out against any party or country wishing to act outside the United Nations.

While publicly criticizing US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Mandela also urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to fully cooperate with UN weapons inspectors.

The South African government, in response to the US-led military attack on Iraq early Thursday morning, has said war is not a solution to the world's problems.

Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, said Thursday the government regretted the start of the war, which set an "unfortunate precedent" in dealing with world affairs.

"It is also regrettable that the war is occurring outside the mandate of the United Nations Security Council," he said.

"More than ever before the multilateral system should be used in our response to global challenges, and we call on the United Nations to assert its authority to ensure that military action is conducted within the rules of international humanitarian law," he said.

The spokesman noted that at the time war broke out progress wasbeing made in removing weapons of mass destruction from Iraq through the United Nations inspection team.

South African President Thabo Mbeki early Thursday morning expressed his regret that the US-led war on Iraq had started.

The president would have preferred the matter to be dealt with by the United Nations rather, said presidential spokesman Bheki Khumalo.

He said the war "is a blow to multilateralism."

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2003)