Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis to use the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to put aside their differences and end sectarian violence, the day after 38 Shiites were killed in a retaliatory bombing in the capital. In a statement, al-Maliki pleaded for unity. «We are all invited to make use of these days to strengthen the bonds of brotherhood and avoid anything that could hurt the social fabric of the Iraqi people,» al-Mailiki was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. «Iraq is living in a very sensitive and historic period, either we live as loving brothers side by side and undivided by sectarianism or Iraq will shift into an area for settling accounts of political parties.»
