UN envoy alarmed by wave of attacks in Iraq which have killed dozens of civilians

The top United Nations envoy in Iraq today strongly condemned recent wave of attacks which have targeted individuals in crowded areas and have killed and injured dozens of people.

“I am particularly alarmed that attacks in disputed internal areas further aggravate the tensions there,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Martin Kobler, said in a news release.

According to media reports, more than 30 people have died and many others injured in a suicide attack and other bombings in the cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmato in northern Iraq and the capital, Baghdad, this week.

The Special Representative urged all Iraqi leaders to live up to their responsibilities and to work without delay on defusing the situation and engaging in peaceful dialogue.

Mr. Kobler also expressed his profound sympathy to the families of the victims, to whom he extended his sincere condolences, and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured.