BAGHDAD – A total of 997 Iraqis were killed throughout the country during the month of March in acts of violence and terrorism, and 729 of the mortalities were civilians, according to a report by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, or UNAMI.

In a statement, UNAMI detailed that 42 of the deaths were civilian policemen, while a total of 2,172 people were wounded, 1,785 of which were civilians.

UNAMI indicated that the report’s figures do not include casualties from operations in al-Anbar province, where, according to information obtained from the provincial Health Directorate, 237 civilians were killed and 702 were wounded.

The newly-appointed UN special representative in Iraq, Jan Kubis, asked the Iraqi government “to do all it can to ensure that civilians’ safety and security is protected in line with fundamental human rights principles and humanitarian law.”

The Slovak Kubis took office on March 27, three days after being appointed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.