According to the United Nations, more than 1 thousand people in Iraq died violently in July, the highest monthly total in Iraq in the last 5 years. Photo:AP

According to the United Nations, more than 1 thousand people in Iraq died violently in July, the highest monthly total in Iraq in the last 5 years. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), in Baghdad, where most of the violence occurred, the death toll hit 957. Gyorgy Busztin, UN Deputy Special Representative for Iraq, called on Iraq’s politicians to act quickly to end the bloodshed. Escalating tensions between Sunnis and Shiites began in December, 2012, when Muslim Sunnis started protesting the Shiite-led government.