Iraq: UN envoy decries latest bombings targeting hundreds of civilians

The senior United Nations envoy to Iraq today condemned weekend bombings which targeted hundreds of civilians in the country and called on the authorities to prosecute those responsible for the attacks.

In a statement released in Baghdad, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi “denounced in the strongest terms the bombings in Karbala, and Al Jaderyia Bridge in Baghdad on Saturday, 14 April, and Al-Ottaeefia neighborhood on Sunday, 15 April, which caused the death and injury of more than two hundred innocent civilians.”

Mr. Qazi described these wanton acts of deliberate violence against men, women and children while going about their daily lives as “heinous.”

He also stressed the importance of a united response. “Only by coming together, opting for national dialogue and reconciliation, and collectively renouncing all forms of violence, can the Iraqi people overcome the scourge of the unbridled violence that threatens their very existence.”

Drawing on the promise of the past, he called on the people of Iraq to “maintain the common bonds that are so deeply rooted in their collective memory and have endured over time to ensure the sanctity, unity and integrity of their country.”

Mr. Qazi also called on all authorities to “vigorously pursue the criminal perpetrators of these criminal acts and bring them to justice” and implored all political, religious, tribal and civil society leaders to “mobilize all means available to bring down the level of violence and allow all Iraqis the benefit of the dignified and secure living they so deserve.”