New Delhi: India on March 25 night appealed to the United Nations to act immediately to stop the US-led attack on Iraq and end the humanitarian sufferings in that country.

India "hopes that the hostilities will be brought to an end immediately and the Iraqi people will not be allowed to suffer any more", External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters after a 90-minute meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which reviewed the developments in Iraq.

Expressing concern over the humanitarian sufferings, Sinha said, "The UN should act immediately both as far as the conflict itself is concerned and also with regard to the humanitarian dimension of the conflict."

The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was attended by his deputy L K Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Sinha, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Army Chief Gen N C Vij, Cabinet Secretary Kamal Pande and top officials.

PTI