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UN officials: Iraq still faces daily security threats

May 23, 2014 at 10:18 am

The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Iraq, Nikolay Mladenov, has voiced his concern about reports of increased armed activities in Fallujah in the Anbar province and its devastating impact on civilians.

Mladenov noted that the Iraqi elections, which concluded earlier this week, arrived at a time when the country is facing serious security tensions, according to the UN News Centre.

“The people of Anbar have suffered from terrorism and violence for too long. All efforts must be made to ensure that fighting ends, people return to their homes, and reconstruction can begin,” Mladenov said, adding that: “It is vital that those affected by the fighting are able to receive humanitarian support.”

In the wake of Iraq’s parliamentary elections, a statement on behalf of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also expressed concern about the continuing insecurity in the Anbar province, stressing that: “The Secretary-General condemns the deliberate flooding of the Abu Ghraib area and urges all sides to refrain from actions that result in displacement of populations or cause environmental disasters.”

The statement also echoed the call for the humanitarian crisis to be addressed.

Baghdad and a number of other governorates are witnessing violent attacks from car bombs and other explosive devices on an almost daily basis. Attacks target civilians as well as members of the state’s security institutions across the country, and have resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries, as well as severe material damages.