Iraq: April becomes the deadliest month in 5 years

April 2012 was the deadliest month in Iraq for almost five years as 712 people were killed and almost 1,200 injured across the country, the United Nations said in a statement Thursday.

Over 200 people died in Baghdad alone following a new wave of violence triggered by a crackdown on Sunni protesters which claimed the lives of 53 people in the town of Hawija.

The protesters were against marginalization by Nouri al-Maliki’s Shia-led government and wanted him to quit.