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Ban Ki-moon condemns attack that killed 130 people in northern Iraq

Ban Ki-moon condemns attack that killed 130 people in northern Iraq

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today condemned “in the strongest terms” the bomb attack which killed and wounded hundreds of Iraqis in the north, and urged the country’s leaders to work for peace.

A spokesperson for Mr. Ban issued a statement saying he was “appalled” by the bomb attack on a busy marketplace in Amirli, where 130 people were killed and over 240 wounded, many of them seriously.

“He condemns in the strongest terms such heinous acts which target innocent civilians,” the spokesperson said.

The Secretary-General repeated his call for all Iraqi leaders “to work together to bring the violence to a halt and engage in a real political dialogue in the hopes of building a peaceful and stable Iraq.”

Mr. Ban’s senior envoy to Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, also condemned the blast, calling it “a wickedly vicious crime committed against the defenceless, which shows the inhumane nature of the perpetrators who will stop at nothing in their quest to further foment the flames of sectarianism.”

In a statement released in Baghdad, Mr. Qazi urged Iraqis to close ranks, and reject the “wanton violence that threatens all of them.” He also called on Iraqi authorities to spare no effort in pursuing the perpetrators and bringing them to justice.