May Was Iraq's Deadliest Month In 5 Years

Iraq Sees Deadliest Month In 5 Years -- Christian Science Monitor

The violence has spanned the country, with an assassination attempt, explosions, shootings, and a series of bombings in Baghdad this week alone. Can the government bring the situation under control?

More than 500 people were killed in Iraq in May, about 120 of them since May 27 alone, making it the deadliest month since June 2008, according to the United Nations.

The uptick in violence has put increased pressure on the government to prove its ability to keep sectarian tensions under control and prevent the country from spiraling into a renewed civil war.

The death toll prompted a warning from UN special representative to Iraq, Martin Kobler. "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 said in Baghdad, according to CNN.

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Update: Iraq mayhem 'ready to explode' into wider conflict, U.N. official says -- CNN

My Comment: These casualty numbers do not match the monthly 3000+ numbers during the height of Iraq's sectarian war in 2006-2007 .... but the trends are ominous and Iraq's security forces appear to be powerless to stop it.

Update: UN: Iraq saw deadliest month in years -- Al Jazeera