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Iraq: UN envoy condemns attack on Baghdad mosque

Iraq: UN envoy condemns attack on Baghdad mosque

SRSG Ashraf Qazi
The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today condemned in the strongest terms the deadly attack on the Shrine of Abdul-Qader Al-Bilani Mosque in Baghdad, calling on those responsible to be brought to justice.

The Secretary-General’s Special Representative Ashraf Qazi said in a statement that the “perpetrators of this heinous crime, which claimed the lives of tens of Iraqis and injured scores of innocent civilians, clearly intended to inflame sectarian passions and undermine any prospect of peace and stability in Iraq.”

He reiterated his appeal to both religious and political leaders to take measures to tackle the peril of sectarian violence while ensuring the human and political rights of all Iraqis will be observed.

Mr. Qazi also urged them to respect religious sensitivities and to protect places of pilgrimage and worship as well as sites that are historically significant.