UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Thursday that that he saw no chance of an immediate cease-fire in the US-led war in Iraq and warned all sides that they would end up as losers.

"If you are asking me whether I see any immediate possibility of a ceasefire, I do not see that," he told the Qatarbased al-Jazeera satellite television in an interview.

"I wish we could say that there is such a possibility for an immediate halt and that a call by the Security Council could lead to that, but I don't see the matter that way," Annan said.

"I have always said that war is a human catastrophe and everyone will

emerge a loser. I am pained by all that has happened," he said. His comments were dubbed into Arabic from English.

Annan said he could not say how long the war would last and reiterated that the legitimacy of the US-led war was questionable. Washington and London failed to persuade the Security Council last month to sanction an invasion.

"I have made it clear that we would have preferred a peaceful solution and not to be forced to see what we see happening today," he said.

He said that warring sides should take care of civilians according to international human rights conventions.

Annan denied Iraqi charges that the

withdrawal of UN staff from Iraq shortly before the war had allowed the invasion to take place. He said his teams would return and work with the Iraqi authorities as soon as the situation allowed.

Before the war, 60 percent of Iraqis lived off rations from the UN oil-for-food program and aid officials have warned of a humanitarian crisis unless deliveries of food, water and medicines resume soon. The United Nations has identified over $1.0 billion of aid supplies that could reach Iraq by mid-May.

"As soon as the circumstances change, the United Nations will return and work with the Iraqi authorities and people who are responsible for their land," Annan said.