A bombing campaign across two days in Iraq, as reported by AFP, brought swift international condemnation. The attacks killed 68 people on Wednesday and Thursday in Baghdad, Baqouba and Nasiriyah. The attacks were targeting Shiite Muslims following a political crisis involving allegations by Shiite leaders that Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi was in charge of a hit squad.
Following are the range of responses by the international community, all issued on January 5.
* "These casualty figures are people - women and men, the youth of the country and its children. These are mainly civilians and one life taken per day is one life too many and this has to be stopped." -- Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq Martin Kobler issued a statement noting that violent attacks had decreased since 2009, but that the victims of this week's attack were more than "mere statistics and figures". Kobler is also the head of the U.N. mission for Iraq.
* "I urge the political parties and leadership to renew their efforts to break the current political impasse so that together they can focus on the reconstruction of Iraq and bring security and stability and raised quality of life to its citizens." -- Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt noted in the British Foreign Office press release that the attack in Nasirya targeted Shia pilgrims.
* "(France) extends its condolences to the Iraqi people and the families of the victims, and expresses its solidarity with the Iraqi authorities in their fight against terrorism. In this context, it is all the more important to resolve the political crisis and for the Iraqi leaders to be able to work together in order to respond to the challenges posed by the violence and to the expectations of the Iraqi people. We urge all the Iraqi political actors to engage in dialogue in order to preserve the country's national unity and stability." -- A Ministry of Foreign and European spokesperson issued a statement reaffirming that France supports "democratic political forces" in Iraq.
* "We consider them acts of terror. They are desperate attempts by the same kind of folk who have been active in Iraq, trying to turn back the clock. With regard to your larger question about our involvement in trying to support the Iraqis in settling their disputes peacefully through political means, as we've said for a number of days now, Ambassador Jeffrey's been very active, Vice President Biden's been active, in encouraging Iraqi politicians to talk to each other, to meet. And as I've said, we are quite encouraged that a number of Iraqi politicians are also calling for such a meeting which we hope takes place soon." -- A reporter asked State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland if the U.S. was advising Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to step back from its positions regarding Vice President Hashimi, according to the daily press briefing.
Shawn Humphrey is a former contributor to The Flint Journal and an amateur Africanist, focusing his personal studies on human rights and political issues on the continent.
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