Prime Minister Issues Unity Call at Start of Holy Month

To mark the beginning of Ramadhan, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki issued a statement saying, "We must all derive benefit from this great month, the month of God, so as to strengthen the bonds of fraternity and abjure disunity and anything that might affect the strong social structure of the Iraqi people." Maliki warned that Iraq risked becoming "a field where different forces settle political scores", but insisted his government would continue to "confront terrorist organisations".