UN: Sanctions must be enforced on Iraq extremists
AP United Nations UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging all countries to enforce an arms embargo, financial sanctions and travel bans against the Islamic State extremist group that has captured a vast stretch of territory in Iraq.
Ban says in a report to the UN Security Council, obtained yesterday by The Associated Press, that "terrorism must not be allowed to succeed in steering Iraq away from its path towards stability and democracy."
The UN chief says reports of mass summary executions by the group are "extremely disturbing" and the use of water as a weapon to cause deliberate flooding and force people to flee "presents a dangerous trend."
Ban urged Iraq's leaders to unite behind a political process and form a new government "in the spirit of national unity and inclusiveness.