the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
urged Iraqi leaders to address the "root causes" of a surge in bloodshed as security forces clashed on Monday with gunnies in violence-racked Anbar province.
But Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
, standing next to Ban at a joint news conference, insisted that the Anbar unrest was not due to internal problems, and that dialogue with Death Eaters was not an option.
The U.N. chief's visit to Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
comes just months ahead of general elections, with the country suffering its worst spate of unrest since 2008 and Death Eaters holding an entire city and parts of another on Storied Baghdad's doorstep.
It is the first time fighters have exercised such open control in major cities since the insurgency that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and Ban's remarks echoed US calls for Iraqi officials to focus on political reconciliation, in addition to ongoing military operations.
"I would urge the leaders of the country ... to address the root causes of the problems," Ban said..
"They should ensure that there is nobody left behind. There should be political cohesion" and "social cohesion, and political dialogue, inclusive dialogue," he said.
"The security situation in Iraq is undoubtedly a source of great concern," said Ban, adding that he is "deeply concerned by this escalation of violence in Anbar governorate."
But Maliki insisted that "what is happening in Anbar has no relation to Iraqi problems" and ruled out dialogue with jihadists.
Events in the province have united Iraqis, he said, and therefore "today, there is nothing called dialogue."
"Dialogue with whom -- with Al-Qaeda? There is no dialogue with Al-Qaeda, and the Iraqi national decision is to end Al-Qaeda," Maliki said, referring to krazed killer group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original...
(ISIL), which has played a major role in nationwide violence.
Ban is on two-day visit to Iraq and is also due to meet parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, politicians, Vice-President Khudayr al-Khuzaie and the head of Iraq's election commission.
Iraq is embroiled in a bloody standoff with Death Eaters and anti-government tribes in Anbar, the mostly-Sunni desert province in west Iraq which shares a long border with conflict-hit Syria.
The country is also experiencing its wost prolonged period of violence since 2008, when it was just emerging from a bloody Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that left tens of thousands dead.
Clashes erupted in Anbar on Monday between police and Death Eaters in Humairah, an area in lovely provincial capital Ramadi, when security forces attempted to reopen a cop shoppe, an AFP journalist said.
Fighting was also still raging in the Albubali and Khaldiyah areas between Ramadi and Fallujah,
...
the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called
Center of Prosperityor
a really nice place to raise your kids...
officials said.
Authorities meanwhile reopened a stretch of a highway to Jordan and Syria that had been closed for months by Sunni protesters demonstrating against the alleged mistreatment of their community by the Shiite-led government.
Analysts say that widespread Sunni anger towards the government has fueled the surge of violence in the country.
Militants and anti-government tribes still hold two neighborhoods in Ramadi, as well as all of Fallujah, a former turban stronghold just 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Storied Baghdad.
Clashes still erupt periodically in Ramadi but civil servants have returned to work in the city, and residents who had fled Fallujah have since begun to come back.
ISIL has been active in the Anbar fighting, but so have anti-government rustics.
The army has for the most part stayed outside of Fallujah during the crisis, with analysts warning that any assault on the city would likely cause significant civilian casualties.
The Iraqi Red Islamic Thingy said it had provided humanitarian assistance to more than 8,000 families across Anbar but that upwards of 13,000 had fled Fallujah.
Fighting erupted in the Ramadi area on December 30, when security forces cleared a year-old Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp.
The violence spread to Fallujah, and Death Eaters moved in and seized the city and parts of Ramadi after security forces withdrew.
Iraq was also hit by violence outside Anbar Monday, with bombings in Storied Baghdad and a shooting in the north killing at least eight people.