United Nations: United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has hit back at those charging the world body officials with corruption in running the oil-for-food progarmme for Iraq, describing some of the reports as "outrageous and exaggerated".

The oil-for-food programme, he said, was controlled throughout by the Sanctions Committee on which all Council members were represented.

It approved contracts or put them on hold. But now the member-States are not coming out saying "we had a role" or "we had an oversight responsibility", Annan told reporters.

"So, all is dumped on the (UN) Secretariat. But those of you in this building know how the operation was run," he said.

He also questioned why the members of the Security Council did not speak out when a Council committee was overseeing the grant of contracts.

So far as smuggling of oil by the Saddam regime to neighbours in contravention of the UN imposed sanctions is concerned, he said the UN had no mandate to stop it. But US and British warplanes were patrolling the area.

The US and British warplanes were imposing no-fly zone.

Annan, who is generally calm, showed emotion briefly while answering the question during his 45-minute press conference dominated by developments in Iraq.