UN envoy for Iraq warns against dragging Iraq further into regional conflict

BAGHDAD -- The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq warned Saturday that Iraq is at risk of being drawn further into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that threatens the security and stability of the region.

"The Middle East is at a critical juncture, with the conflict raging in Gaza and armed action elsewhere threatening a major conflagration," said a statement issued by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.

"Despite the (Iraqi) government's efforts to prevent the escalation of tensions, continued attacks originating from within and outside of Iraq's borders stand to undo the hard-won stability of the country and the achievements it has made in recent years," the UN envoy said.

She said that the UN has been focusing on ending the Gaza conflict and avoiding a regional spillover.

"Iraq's stability and security are front and center in all our engagements. We reiterate our appeal to all sides to exercise maximum restraint," the statement added.

The UN statement came as the US military bases in Iraq and Syria have recently become targets of attacks by armed Shiite militias as part of retaliatory measures for the US support of Israel in its ongoing conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The repeated attacks by Iraqi militias prompted the US forces to retaliate by launching airstrikes on positions of the Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces that killed around a dozen fighters and wounded others.