SECRETARY-GENERAL OUTRAGED BY BAGHDAD BOMBINGS THAT KILLED NEARLY 200 PEOPLE

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Following the horrendous carnage in Baghdad yesterday, where a string of bombings left nearly 200 people dead and many more injured, the Secretary-General expresses his outrage at the callousness and scale with which innocent civilians are being slaughtered on an almost daily basis in Iraq.  Another deadly bomb attack registered today only underscores his concern.

In the face of these latest provocations, the Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the Iraqi people and he appeals to all communities of Iraq to show maximum restraint.  He calls urgently on the political and religious leaders of Iraq to come together in a spirit of dialogue and mutual respect, in order to find a way out of this destructive spiral of violence.

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For information media • not an official record