UN chief concerned over Iraq situation

United Nations, June 30 (IANS) UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern for crisis hit Iraq, media reported Monday.

"The secretary-general expresses his grave concern at the deepening crisis in Iraq and the rising number of civilian deaths, with over one million Iraqis having fled their homes due to the fighting," Xinhua quoted a UN statement as saying.

The UN statement came as hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were driven from their homes with Islamic insurgents advancing across the country.

Iraq has seen a deteriorating security situation since June 10 when bloody clashes broke out between security forces and Sunni militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), who took control of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city.

The militants later seized territories after Iraqi security forces withdrew from their posts in the Nineveh province.

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said that at least 1,300 people were killed and 1,250 injured since the clashes started.