United Nations Radio

UN Special envoy to Iraq Staffan de Mistura has strongly condemned the murder of civilians and expressed concern at violence targeting the minority Christian community in Mosul.

In a statement Monday, the UN envoy said "these acts are aimed to fuel tensions and exacerbate instability at a crucial time."

His comments come after a dozen murders of Christians over the last two weeks triggered the exodus of nearly 1,000 Christian families.

De Mistura tells UN Radio this latest action is more than religious tension.

"...we're talking about human rights here, we're talking about democracy. We are talking about the right for these people to participate in elections which is so far is not confirmed by Article 50 which has been abolished in the electoral law and we are pushing for that to return, and for them to have a say in the area where they are living. So more than religious, it looks like basically human rights towards a minority which happens to be Christian."

Iraq's 275 member parliament passed a law last month that will allow provincial elections to go ahead in early January, but it omitted a clause that would have reserved seats on local councils for Christians.

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

(duration: 1'06")