Ad Melkert, UN special representative to Iraq, was unhurt on Tuesday when a bomb some Iraqi officials blamed on Shiite militants hit his convoy in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, 160 km south of Baghdad.
“For me, it’s actually quite clear that this country, Iraq, needs a strong government to confront violence from all different sides for all different reasons,” a visibly shaken Melkert told Reuters. “As long as such a strong government with a clear mandate is not in place, there is a gap and the potential for those that don’t like the constitutional, democratic development of this country to try to sabotage it.”
An inconclusive March parliamentary election has left Iraq in a political void with rival factions so far unable to come to an agreement to form a government. There are fears insurgents could try to exploit the impasse and resulting sectarian tensions to re-ignite the bloodshed that peaked in 2006-7.
Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, a Shiite seeking a second term, has won crucial support from Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, but remains at odds with other Shiite groups and the secular, Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc that won the most votes.
Melkert, who was in Najaf on Tuesday for a visit to Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, urged political leaders to sit together and negotiate the formation of a coalition government without delay.
“We are concerned that most, or virtually all of the conversations so far have taken place in bilateral settings,” Melkert said.
“It would be very helpful if parties would also meet together ... and then try to register the points of agreement and possibly also the points of disagreement, but in that sense to advance the process in a more defined way than has been the case so far.” While overall violence in Iraq has ebbed from the height of the war, attacks by a stubborn Sunni Islamist insurgency and some Shiite militia groups are still a daily occurrence.
Tuesday’s attack involving Melkert occurred near Najaf airport and killed one policeman and wounded three others.
Melkert said there were around 14 cars traveling in the convoy, of which 10 were Iraqi police cars and four belonged to the UN. “Pretty close to the airport, I suddenly heard a blast, a big noise, and also felt the pressure of the blast that I heard. We speeded forward, as it should be, and learnt later at the airport that unfortunately one policeman in one of the cars behind us got killed and others were injured,” Melkert said.
The United Nations has operated under tight security in Iraq since its former headquarters was blown up in 2003. Twenty-two people died, including the then-UN envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian. A former Iraqi airline pilot was accused in January of orchestrating the attack.
Its current base is within Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone area, where many government offices and embassies are.
Melkert, who does not travel around Iraq much, said the UN was working with other parties to look into the incident.
“Of course we want to know. It’s very important, for not only our work, but for all those that are constructively engaged in the future of Iraq and trying to support government and political parties,” he said.
