According to figures released by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 712 people were killed and 1,633 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence.

The majority of victims were civilians, with 595 people killed and 1,438 injured. A further 117 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed and 195 were injured.

Baghdad was the worst affected governorate, with a total of 697 civilian casualties, followed by Diyala, Salahuddin, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Anbar.

Hundreds of people have been killed or wounded in recent clashes across the country, including in Hawija, north of Baghdad, where government helicopters shot at militants hiding in the village, resulting in dozens of people killed or injured.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Iraq, Martin Kobler, has repeatedly called on Iraqi authorities to take decisive measures to stop the escalating violence, and on Tuesday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged all Iraqis 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,” Mr. Kobler said.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr. Kobler welcomed the return of Kurdistan region ministers to the Cabinet and Kurdistan region members of parliament to the Council of Representatives, following a meeting on Monday between Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nichervan Barzani.

“We took a decision to suspend the licence of some satellite channels that adopted language encouraging violence and sectarianism,”  Mujahid Abu al-Hail of the Communications and Media Commission told AFP on Sunday.

Al Jazeera has not been formally notified of the ban it said.

The ban includes 9 other satellite TV channels.

The move comes after a wave of violence that began on Tuesday with clashes between security forces and Sunni Arab protesters in northern Iraq that has killed a total of more than 170 people.

The violence is the deadliest so far linked to demonstrations that broke out in Sunni areas of the Shia-majority country.

The protesters have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for allegedly targeting their community.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for peace in a speech on Iraqi TV on Saturday.

In his speech, he said sectarian conflict had returned to Iraq “because it began in another place in this region” – a clear reference to Syria.

The protesters have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shiite, and railed against authorities for allegedly targeting their community.

U.N. special representative to Iraq Martin Kobler, who has condemned the 5-day violence in Northern Iraq, said Thursday that civilian and government leaders must work together to calm Iraq’s society.

Yesterday, April 23, 2013, the police forces attacked the square of the sit-in in Hawija near by Kirkuk that is about 170 KM from the capital, which resulted in several injuries and the number of the victims reached 20 from the protesters and three soldiers according to military sources, which led the Minister of Education to resign “Mohamed Tamem”, on the background of these regrettable events.

It is worthy to be mentioned that the Ministry of Defense announced a different story as it said that the police was attacked by armed protesters, when the police started to apply the law and land the riots combat forces as these forces found snipers gun, rocket-propelled grenades and others which led to the murder of 20 armed men and three officers which was denied by the protesters as they have assured that they have no weapons and they have assured that the sit-in was peaceful when they were attacked by the police forces yesterday.

The sit-in began on December 2012 and continued peacefully to protest against al-maliki sectarian policies in Iraq against the Sunni until the yesterday regretful events.

ANHRI said that “there was a hope after the end of the reign of the dictator “Saddam Hussinen”, that there will be a new era of democracy, respect the multiple culture, religions and races of Iraq but it is clear that Iraq still lies under the rule, which headed by al-malilki, that violate the basic human rights, citizenship and the total equality in duties and rights, instead of benefiting from these variations and drafting laws to control its deal with the state, it ensured the sectarianism among the people”.

ANHRI demands an immediate investigation in the event and bringing the involved persons to justice.

In a post published to the Internet, the writer known as Heba El-Shamiri revealed that the reason she had been missing for several years was because she was imprisoned. She stated that the name she is known by is a pseudonym she uses and that her real name is Hanan El-Meshadani. She added that she is a doctor and not a journalist.

“If her allegations are true, then we are facing a serious violation of human rights and a crime that must not be tolerated,” stated ANHRI, “the writer said she was imprisoned for exercising her right to freely express her opinions and criticize the government of her country. It is not clear whether her imprisonment followed legal procedures or whether she was illegaly jailed, which would add enforced disappearance to the list of crimes allegedly committed against her.”

ANHRI added, “Although the Iraqi government’s record with regards to press freedom and attacks on journalists places Iraq among the most dangerous countries for the press, we will not rush to condemn the government based on allegations that have not been investigated yet. However, we do emphasize that these allegations are serious and require urgent attention and a neutral and transparent investigation in order to reveal the truth.”

ANHRI calls on the Iraqi government to quickly investigate the circumstances of imprisoning El-Meshadani and to publish the details of her trial and allow observers from inside and outside Iraq to participate in the fact-finding committee digging into allegations of rape and torture. The organisation repeats its previous demands of the Iraqi authorities, asking it to respect the Iraqi Constitution and the international treaties of which Iraq is a signatory.

The court also tried his secretary and son-in-law Ahmed Qahtan in absentia and sentenced him to death.
 
Iraq’s Shiite-led government has accused al-Hashemi of being involved in 150 bombings, assassinations and other attacks from 2005 to 2011 most of which were allegedly carried out by his bodyguards and other employees. Al-Hashemi has claimed that his bodyguards were likely tortured or otherwise coerced into testifying against him.

Interpol issued a “red notice” for al-Hashimi in May, “on suspicion of guiding and financing terrorist attacks in the country.” The notice calls on the 190 countries that belong to the international police organization to help locate and arrest him, at the request of the Iraqi authorities. No such action has been taken to arrest him since the notice was issued four months ago. Al-Hashimi is now living in Turkey.  Before that, he lived in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and also traveled to Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the invitation of those governments.

Meanwhile, suspected al-Qaeda fighters and other armed groups have killed at least 73 people in a wave of attacks in Iraq, accoridng to Al Jazeera.  

After the fall of Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and the rise of Iraq’s Shi’ite majority to power, many Iraqi Sunnis feel they have been sidelined.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki  arrived  in the Iranian capital Tehran for two days of talks ahead of a meeting next month in Baghdad on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

Al-Maliki arrived in Tehran on Sunday and was welcomed by Iran’s Energy Minister Majid Namjou.

Maliki is expected to meet during his visit with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, and chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

The focus of talks was on bilateral, regional and international issues, and to “develop and strengthen bilateral ties,” IRNA reported.

Talks during Maliki’s visit are also expected to concentrate on economic and regional issues like the crisis in Syria.

It is the Iraqi premier’s first visit to Iran in nearly two years, and comes as Iraq is preparing to host Iranian officials and the P5+1 group of world powers(Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany) on May 23, for the next round of talks on Tehran’s controversial nuclear weapons program.

Iran and the P5+1 wrapped up the first round of talks in Istanbul, Turkey on April 14. Both sides characterized the talks as “constructive” and “positive.”

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari has also met with an EU delegation to talk about issues relevant to the upcoming meeting between Iran and the P5+1, according to a statement by Iraq’s Foreign Minister.