More people were killed and wounded in violent attacks across Iraq in April than in any month since June 2008, the United Nations mission in the Middle East nation said in a news release issued Thursday
According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 712 people were killed and 1,633 were wounded in Iraq in April as a result of acts of terrorism and violence. The majority of victims were civilians, with 595 people killed and 1,438 injured.
In addition, 117 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed and 195 were injured last month. Baghdad was the worst affected governorate, with a total of 697 civilian casualties, followed by Diyala, Salahuddin, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Anbar.
The UN mission noted that hundreds of people have been killed or wounded in recent clashes across the country, including in Hawija, where government helicopters shot at militants hiding in the village. That military action left dozens of people killed or injured.
Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Iraq, has repeatedly called on Iraqi authorities to take decisive measures to stop the escalating violence.
Besides, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had urged all Iraqis on Tuesday to come together and engage in inclusive dialogue to overcome the "deep political crisis" facing the country.
"It is only through dialogue and full participation in the government institutions that bold initiatives can be taken to overcome the critical phase the country is going through," Kobler said Thursday.
When compared to the deadly sectarian violence witnessed in 2006 and 2007, violence has dropped across Iraq in recent years. Nevertheless, the war-torn country still witnesses frequent militant attacks, mostly sectarian in nature, on a regular basis.
The violence spiked drastically in the run-up to the April 20 local elections. Besides, there has been a notable increase in violent attacks in Iraq since the US combat forces left the country in late 2011.
The last of US combat troops left Iraq by late December 2011, ending a decade-long American military presence since the 2003 invasion of the Middle East nation. The US troop pullout was in line with a bilateral security agreement that required the withdrawal of all American troops from the country by the end of 2011.
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