The UN Security Council strongly condemned today attacks that killed more than 70 people in Baghdad, according to dpa. The day's attacks came as UN officials were marking the first World Humanitarian Day, set to coincide with the sixth anniversary of a bombing that killed 22 UN staffers in the Iraqi capital. "Members of the UN Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the series of attacks in Baghdad, and expressed their deep condolences to the families of the victims and reaffirmed its support to the people and the government of Iraq and its commitment to Iraq's security," said British Ambassador John Sawers, the council president. The series of explosion at several government ministries and residential areas wounded more than 400 people as Iraqis were shopping in preparation for the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this weekend. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told a crowd of foreign diplomats and UN staffers at UN headquarters in New York that the day was meant to renew the UN's commitment to help "vulnerable, voiceless and marginalized people wherever they may be." "This is also a day on which we pay tribute to the legions of heroic humanitarian personnel," Ban said. "These men and women come from many backgrounds. But they share a conviction that one person's suffering is everyone's responsibility." The UN decided to hold the annual World Humanitarian Day on August 19 to "shine a spotlight" on people in need of assistance worldwide.
