Iraq asks UN to help end ‘neighbor’s meddling’

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged the United Nations to put an end to what it called the intervention of neighboring countries in Iraq’s internal affairs.

“It is time for the UN to act to stop the bloodshed,” Maliki said during a meeting with UN special envoy Oscar Fernandez-Taranco on Monday.

“We believe that a UN statement warning neighboring countries and requesting them not to interfere in our internal affairs would be the best way to mediate,” AFP quoted him as saying.

The Prime minister had earlier charged that 90 percent of foreign fighters who enter Iraq come through Syria, including the terrorists accused of carrying out the August attacks.

Maliki repeated the accusations over Syria’s intervention in Iraq’s recent bombings, saying that three of the people behind the twin bombings in central Baghdad last week confessed to receiving help from the country.

“Three members of the Baath Party were responsible for the recent terrorist operation,” he said. “They were receiving support from the Syrian Baath Party and confessed to this.”

Maliki had formerly accused Damascus of sheltering militants he believes masterminded a string of bomb attacks inside Iraq.

Baghdad witnessed its deadliest bomb attacks in two years, after a two-ton van and a minibus exploded simultaneously outside the Justice Ministry and city government offices last week. The bombings left at least 155 people dead and over 600 others injured.

An al-Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for the blasts, describing it “the second phase in the fight against infidels.”