[Ed Note: The Central Committee has
control of oil and opium in Afghanistan, and who cares about the people in the
countries including and the UNITED STATES ,Incorporated? Give them sequester
budget cuts entitlements, and leave them to own devices.]
·
Iraq Violence: May Was Deadliest Month For Years - UN
Baghdad was the worst hit
area of the country
·
The United
Nations says more than 1,000 people were killed in Iraq in May, the highest
monthly death toll for years.
The
violence makes it the deadliest month since the wide sectarian violence of
2006-7, and raising concern that the country is returning to civil war.
The vast
majority of the casualties were civilians, and Baghdad was the worst hit area of
the country.
Martin
Kobler, UN envoy to Iraq, called it a "sad record" and urged politicians to act
to stop the bloodshed.
Systemic violence risks
wider conflict
Multiple
bombings have ripped through Shia and Sunni neighbourhoods across the country
over the past few months.
Figures
released on Saturday showed 1,045 civilians and security personnel were killed
in May, far higher than the 712 who died in April, the worst recorded toll since
June 2008.
On
Thursday, Mr Kobler warned that "systemic violence is ready to explode at any
moment if all Iraqi leaders do not engage immediately to pull the country out of
this mayhem".
Analysts
say al-Qaeda and Sunni Islamist insurgents have been invigorated by the
Sunni-led revolt in neighbouring Syria and by the worsening sectarian tensions
in the country.
The BBC's
Rami Ruhayem, in Baghdad, says the violence has been linked to a stand-off
between the Sunni minority against the Shia-dominated order installed following
the US-led invasion 10 years ago.
But the
attacks seem to tell a different story, our correspondent
says.
Outside of
Baghdad, predominantly Sunni areas were badly hit.
On some
days, Shia areas across Baghdad appear to have been the main target, while on
others, the Sunni areas outside the capital saw most explosions.
One
explanation is that Sunni militant groups linked to al-Qaeda want to provoke
civil war in Baghdad and undermine the government in areas they see as their
strongholds, our correspondent says.
But other
explanations link the violence to the civil war in neighbouring Syria, he adds.
The
bloodshed has been accompanied by unconfirmed rumours about sectarian militias
roaming Baghdad for revenge, which have caused fear in many areas of the
capital.
The
violence has prompted many initiatives aimed at stopping any slide into civil
war, including appeals by clerics and grassroots tribal campaigns.
No comments:
Post a Comment