(VOVworld) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Tuesday to hold a dialogue to end the sectarian violence that has been devastating Iraq. Ban warned of possibly escalating violence in a press conference in Geneva and expressed his hope that with the strong support of the international community, the UN will be able to help Iraq gradually restore peace and stability.

A burnt vehicle is seen during clashes between Iraqi security forces and the ISIL in the northern Iraq city of Mosul. (Photo: Reuters)

The fighting is approaching Baghdad. Extremist Sunni gunmen from a group that calls itself “the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) have seized control of parts of Baquba, the provincial capital of Diyala province, 60km north of  Baghdad. The group holds most of the town, which is densely populated by Shiites, after a battle which killed dozens of civilians and soldiers.