867 Iraqis killed in May, the bloodiest month this year for Baghdad

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) estimated that a total of 867 Iraqis were killed in violence in the month of May, 468 of them civilians.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Iraq, Jan Kubis, said the population’s resilience against terrorism was praiseworthy and called on the Iraqi government to do more to help protect civilians from the increased threat of terrorist attacks.

"Iraqi civilians going about their daily life have been the target of terrorist suicide bombers and car bombs. In some of these attacks, pilgrims have been singled out. Residential neighborhoods have sustained heavy damage. Armed clashes have spared no one," Kubis said.

"But the will of the Iraqi people, despite all the carnage, remains unshaken and this gives hope for the future. Joining the people of Iraq, in particular the residents of Baghdad where a number of attacks took place, I urge the government to take every effort to prevent the occurrence of such outrages," he added.

May was the bloodiest month for the Iraqi capital to date this year. According to the UNAMI findings, 267 of the 468 civilian casualties in May were in the Baghdad Governorate, followed by Nineveh where 56 civilians were killed in May.

This is largely a result of the devastating car bomb attacks ISIS leveled against the Iraqi capital in May, attacks that many in Baghdad believe originated from nearby Fallujah. That could likely have been one reason that prompted the Iraqi government to launch its ongoing military operation against ISIS in that city.

Kubis also urged the Iraqi government to avoid civilian casualties in the recapture of Fallujah.
"Innocent civilians should not pay the price for the crimes of Daesh  (ISIS)," he said.

The Iraqi offensive into Fallujah is being delayed by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who says he wants to avoid causing too many civilian casualties.

"It would be possible to end the battle quickly if protecting civilians wasn't among our priorities," Abadi said on Wednesday.