In the latest wave of violence to strike the capital, Baghdad, at least 30 people have reportedly been killed in a series of car bombings on Saturday. The attacks came at the end of the day-long fast Muslims are observing during the month of Ramadan.

Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), condemned “in the strongest terms” these attacks as well as other violent acts that have killed and injured hundreds of innocent people.

“These criminal acts targeting Muslims praying in mosques or gathering after breaking their fast are senseless. The holy month of Ramadan should be a time for spirituality and forgiveness, instead of increasing violence and division,” he stated.

“I am deeply saddened that my last words as the SRSG for Iraq have to be linked to violence and criminal acts,” he added. “I call on all Iraqis not to let violence prevail and to work together toward peace and dialogue, the only sustainable solution.”

Last week, in his final briefing to the Security Council as the UN envoy for Iraq, Mr. Kobler noted an “alarming” scale of renewed violence in the country during the latest four months, with nearly 3,000 people killed and over 7,000 more wounded.

He added that Iraq’s transition towards democracy and prosperity is in a crucial phase, and warned that with violence spiking, perpetrators are taking advantage of the instability caused by the ongoing political stalemate and the crisis in neighbouring Syria.

Mr. Kobler, a German national, will soon take up his new post as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of the UN peacekeeping mission there.

A wave of deadly bombings struck the capital, Baghdad, Thursday, while the governor of Anbar province reportedly escaped an assassination attempt when bombs exploded near his convoy, injuring four of his bodyguards. This follows a number of bombings in Baghdad on Monday that killed more than 50 people.

Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), condemned the attack against the governor’s convoy.

In a news release issued in Baghdad, he also voiced his dismay at the horrific toll of lives lost following the “new criminal wave of attacks against innocent civilians,” particularly targeting the capital.

“Systemic violence is ready to explode at any moment if all Iraqi leaders do not engage immediately to pull the country out of this mayhem,” Mr. Kobler stated, reiterating the call he made on the country’s leaders earlier this week.

On Wednesday, in an exchange of views with European parliamentarians, Mr. Kobler voiced serious concerns over the heightened level of violence in Iraq and the dangers of the country falling back into sectarian strife, if decisive action is not taken by its political leaders.

“The country stands at a crossroads,” he stated, calling for a stronger European Union role in dealing with the developments unfolding in the country, and for increased interaction with the Iraqi Council of Representatives.

The abuses US officials allegedly authorized in the early years of the war in Iraq, and their tacit or direct complicity in Iraqi abuses throughout the occupation, are all partly responsible for the entrenchment of weak and corrupt institutions in Iraq, Human Rights Watch said.

Similarly, despite growing numbers of claims of serious abuse of detainees in British custody in Iraq, UK authorities have neither set in motion a full and comprehensive public inquiry into the abuse, nor held senior-level officials accountable for war crimes committed in Iraq.

“The US legacy in Iraq reflects abuses committed with impunity by American and Iraqi forces throughout the US-led occupation,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The abuses set in motion over 10 years ago by the Bush administration’s ‘torture memos,’ and the brutal detention policies that followed, facilitated Iraq’s creation of a system that is today either unwilling or incapable of delivering justice to its citizens.”

New information emerged as recently as early March 2013 indicating that the US government is pursuing a policy of engagement with Iraqi security forces accused of responsibility for torture and other abuses, with little if any consideration of accountability for those abuses. A Wall Street Journal report said that the CIA is “ramping up support” to the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service (CTS) to “better fight Al-Qaeda affiliates.”

“If correct, the report that the US intends to support the Iraqi Counterterrorism Service underscores the poor US record on addressing allegations of abuses by Iraqi security forces,” Whitson said. “The CTS, though accused of committing serious abuses against detainees, worked closely with US Special Forces before the US troop withdrawal in 2011.”

In 2011, Human Rights Watch reported former detainees’ allegations that the CTS had held them in secret jails and had tortured and committed other abuses against them. The alleged abuses included beatings, applying electric shocks to their genitals and other body parts, repeated partial asphyxiation with plastic bags until they passed out, and suspension by the ankles.

The US authorities should make public the nature of US military and intelligence agency cooperation with the CTS and other Iraqi security forces that are alleged to have committed serious abuses but have escaped accountability, Human Rights Watch said. The US should also conduct public investigations into allegations of complicity of US military personnel and coalition forces in torture and other abuses by Iraqi security forces during the occupation and prosecute those responsible, including senior-level officials.

The US government should reevaluate its decision not to hold senior government officials accountable for US knowledge of and complicity in abuses of detainees in US and Iraqi custody, Human Rights Watch said. US citizens complicit in torture should be prosecuted. The US should condition future aid on the Iraqi government’s meeting the human rights standards outlined in the Leahy Law, which prohibits US military assistance to foreign military units that violate human rights with impunity.

“The failure of successive US governments to investigate numerous allegations of abuses by US and Iraqi forces has set an ominous precedent and helped to root a culture of impunity as one of the core features of the US legacy in Iraq,” Whitson said. “Whether the US failures were due to willful ignorance or a deliberate desire to cover up its role, 10 years on, the people of Iraq deserve better from the US.”

“Once again, innocent people going about their daily lives were viciously attacked. Nothing can justify such heinous crimes,” stated Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

Mr. Kobler extended his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured.

According to the Associated Press, a wave of bombings tore through Baghdad on Tuesday morning, killing at least 57 people and wounding more than 200, highlighting increasing sectarian tensions in Iraq on the eve of the anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday’s blasts.

According to media reports, the attacks were mostly car bombings and targeted small restaurants, groups of day labourers and bus stops in Baghdad during the morning rush hour.

A suicide bomber driving a truck also attacked a police base in a town south of the capital.

The bombings come ahead of 10 years of the day that the United States announced the start of the invasion on March 19, 2003.

The war in Iraq has killed at least 190,000 people, including men and women in uniform, contractors and civilians and cost the U.S. $2.2 trillion, according to a report published in advance of the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

First released in 2011, the Costs of War report has been compiled and updated by more than 30 economists, anthropologists, lawyers, humanitarian personnel, political scientists, the United National and other oragnizations.

Several car bombs exploded across the Iraqi capital, including in busy outdoor market areas. At least 20 people were killed and scores more were wounded in the attacks, which reportedly targeted mainly Shia areas.

“Once again, innocent civilians going about their daily business have been targeted, bringing great grief to their families and communities. Nothing can justify these terrorist attacks,” said Martin Kobler, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).

“All Iraqi leaders have a responsibility to stand up against these atrocious crimes targeting the social fabric of the country.”

Meanwhile, attackers bombed and disabled a pipeline carrying fuel oil from Iraq’s largest refinery to a province north of Baghdad, the oil ministry said on Sunday, Reuters reported.

“A bomb attack led to an explosion in the 16-inch pipeline transporting fuel oil from Baji refinery to Nineveh province,” said ministry spokesman Asim Jihad.

No-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Sunday’s blasts follow assassination of the head of Iraq’s intelligence academy, Ali Aouni officer on Saturday who died in a suicide blast in the northern town of Tal Afar.

Earlier this month, at least 25 people died and about 100 were injured in a wave of car bombings in mainly Shia areas of Iraq.

Thousands of Sunnis have held demonstrations in several cities since December, accusing the Shia-dominated government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki of monopolising power.

“I welcome the announcement that the next group of 400 residents are willing to commence the move from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya immediately after the Eid holiday,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, Martin Kobler, said in a news release issued by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which he also heads.

A Muslim holiday marking the end of the month of fasting known as Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr is observed on Monday in various countries around the world.

In line with a memorandum of understanding signed in December by the UN and the Iraqi Government, some two-thirds of the residents, or nearly 2,000 people, have been relocated from Camp Ashraf – now known as Camp New Iraq – to a temporary transit location near Baghdad, known as Camp Hurriya, where a process to determine refugee status is being carried out by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Close to 1,300 individuals – Iranian exiles, many of whom are members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran – are still awaiting transfer from Camp Ashraf to the transit centre.

“I request the Government of Iraq to be generous with regard to the humanitarian needs of the residents,” Kobler said. “I also reiterate my appeal to Member States to accept the residents for resettlement in their countries.”

In addition to Kobler, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also previously urged all parties to avoid violence and work together to peacefully conclude the transfer of the remaining Iranian exiles.

The UNAMI news release also noted that there has been continuous progress in efforts to improve the living conditions in Camp Hurriya.

“The United Nations continues to support a peaceful solution to the issue of Camp Ashraf, continues to monitor the relocation process, and provides 24/7 monitoring in Camp Hurriya,” the Mision stated, adding that it calls upon the remaining residents of Camp Ashraf to “also start preparations for additional convoys to Campy Hurriya, in order to peacefully complete the relocation process.”

“It is extremely disturbing that up to 196 individuals may be at imminent risk of execution, with a serious lack of public information on the cases,” said the Special Rapporteur on arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns (photo). “And this is in a single province of the country.”

Iraq’s Ministry of Interior has reportedly announced that the Court of Cassation has upheld the death sentences in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, according to a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). It added that it is unclear whether any of these sentences have yet been ratified by the Iraqi Presidential Council.

“The lives of too many individuals are at stake,” Heyns said, urging the Iraqi Government to immediately halt executions and review all death row cases. He recalled that the death penalty may only be imposed – in countries that still have this form of punishment – if a strict set of substantive and procedural requirements are met.

He supported the appeal, made in January 2012, by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, for the establishment of a moratorium on the death penalty.

In that statement, Pillay deplored that 34 individuals had been executed in Iraq within one day. Reports indicate that 70 people have been executed in the country thus far in 2012. “Overall, an alarming number of death sentences have been carried out in Iraq over the past few years,” stated the news release.

Stressing the duty of the State to ensure transparency and legal due process, Heyns called on the Government to disclose information on the number of executions carried out, the identity of death row prisoners, the charges and judicial proceedings against them, and the outcome of the review of their cases.

“Maintaining secrecy over executions undermines public scrutiny and may lead the international community to conclude that these are being imposed in violation of international law,” he said.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

In Monday’s deadliest attack, a string of roadside bombs and a car bomb, followed by a suicide attack targeting emergency responders, in the town of Taji killed at least 42 people and wounded 40 others, according to two medical officials, according to Al Arabiya.

In Baghdad, car bombs targeted an interior ministry office that issues government ID cards to residents of the city’s mainly Shia Sadr City neighbourhood. At least 16 people were killed in that attack, according to Al Jazeera.

The attacks came a day after a spate of bombings across Iraq killed at least 17 people and wounded nearly 100 others, Al Arabiya reported.

Monday’s toll was the highest since June 13 when 84 people were killed. Unitl now nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Al-Qaeda’s front group in Iraq has warned in recent days that it seeks to retake territory in the country.

 Al-Qaeda in Iraq is regarded by Iraqi officials as significantly weaker than at the peak of its strength in 2006 and 2007, but it is still capable of launching spectacular mass-casualty attacks.

“I think Iran can play a positive role,” the Joint Special Envoy told reporters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, adding, “I believe, as you heard me say on many occasions, that Iran has a role to play. And my presence here explains that I believe in that.”

Annan was addressing the media alongside Iran’s Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Salehi. The envoy had arrived in Iran on Monday to seek the country’s support and cooperation in his efforts to resolve the conflict in Syria.

The UN estimates that more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Syria and tens of thousands displaced since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began 16 months ago.

In his remarks to the media, the Joint Special Envoy noted that since assuming his functions, he had received encouragement and cooperation from Minister Salehi and the Government of Iran

“And I think the Minister has made it clear that if we do not make a real effort to resolve this issue peacefully, and it were to get out of hand and spread to the region, [it could] lead to consequences that none of us can imagine. So, let’s work together to bring peace and stability to Syria,” Annan said.

Preceding his arrival in Tehran, the Joint Special Envoy had been in Damascus, where he met with President al-Assad, in talks which he earlier described as “very candid and constructive.” He had also said they had agreed on an approach to ending the violence in the Middle Eastern country, and that he would share that approach with the armed opposition.

In response to a question in Tehran on that approach, Annan said that the details had yet to be finalized as the armed opposition in Syria had to be consulted. “I cannot get into specific details. But let me say that it relates to the efforts to end the violence. And he [President al-Assad] made a suggestion of building an approach from the ground up in some of the districts where we have extreme violence – to try and contain the violence in those districts and, step by step, build up and end the violence across the country,” he said. “The details, of course, are to be worked out… but it really deals with ending the violence,” he added.

Later on Tuesday, Joint Special Envoy Annan arrived in Baghdad, Iraq, for talks with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the Syrian crisis and its impact on the region.

A spokesperson for Mr. Annan said that the meeting with Prime Minister Maliki was “very constructive,” and the Iraqi leader expressed concern for the potential impacts the Syrian crisis could have on neighbouring countries, particularly Iraq, should it not be contained.

The spokesperson added that the Prime Minister expressed his full support for the six-point plan put forward earlier this year by Annan to end the violence in Syria. The plan calls for an end to violence, access for humanitarian agencies to provide relief to those in need, the release of detainees, the start of inclusive political dialogue, and unrestricted access to the country for the international media.