UN Security Council condemns deadly attacks in Iraq

UN Security Council condemns deadly attacks in Iraq

2011-08-19 06:58:14 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) Security Council on Thursday condemned in the strongest terms a series of terrorist attacks across Iraq on Monday, killing as many as 80 people and injuring hundreds.

The Security Council, which is composed of five permanent members and ten non-permanent members, expressed its deep condolences to the families of the victims and reaffirmed their support for the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people.

"The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with Iraqi authorities in this regard," the Council said in a statement released by the UN press office.

The Security Council further reaffirmed the need to combat by all means terrorist threats to international peace and security. "The members of the Security Council reminded States that they must ensure that measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law," the Council said.

The Council concluded its statement by saying that no terrorist act can reverse the path towards peace, democracy and reconstruction in Iraq.

The series of attacks across the Middle Eastern country on Monday left as many as 80 people killed and more than 300 people injured. The deadliest incident occurred in Kut, located in Iraq's southern province of Wassit, some 180 kilometers (112 miles) southeast of Baghdad, when an explosion near a goldsmith shop at a market killed at least 34 people.

The permanent members of the UN Security Council are China, France, Russia, the UK, and the United States. The current non-permanent members are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombia, Gabon, Germany, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, and South Africa.

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