Hans Blix, a 74-year-old Swede and head of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), is expected in Cyprus Sunday afternoon, the report said.

Blix will head the team to Baghdad on Monday for investigation of alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. He plans to return to Cyprus next Wednesday.

Another 20 persons from United States, Britain and other intelligence agencies are due in Nikosia by the weekend on their way to Iraq, where they are expected to spend about four to six months and survey some of the 700 designated sites.

The UNMOVIC is to set up a regional office on the island to facilitate the travel of those weapons inspectors to Iraq.

Bahrain was the staging base for previous Iraqi inspections, but this time Cyprus is chosen for the function because of its proximity to Iraq.

At present, all UN personnel are staying in a local hotel near southern coastal Larnaca international airport, the report said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 15, 2002)