U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored Thursday s attack on the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad that killed at least eight people, including two members of parliament, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said. This attack targeted Iraq s elected officials and attempted to undermine one of the country s sovereign institutions, Okabe told reporters. Ban once again urges all Iraqi leaders to come together in a spirit of unity in order to stem the violence and work towards a more peaceful and stable Iraq, Okabe added. Meanwhile, an international humanitarian conference to help the humanitarian needs of the Iraqis will take place in Geneva on April 17-18 to reinforce the need for aid to alleviate suffering, to provide protection, and to share the burden with those countries and communities that have so far borne the brunt of the crisis, the U.N. refugee agency said.
