UN chief warns of ‘profound risk of miscalculation’ amid rising world tensions

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 06 (APP):Amid global turmoil marked by escalating tensions in the Middle East and South Asia, UN Secretary-General Antonio Monday made a passionate call for avoiding a military conflict.

“Let us not forget the terrible human suffering caused by war,” he said in a statement readout to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

The secretary-general said that ordinary people always pay the highest price in a war. “It is our common duty to avoid it,” he added.

“We are living in dangerous times,” Guterres said.

Over the past week, United States-Iran tensions took a dangerous turn when an American air strike killed top Iranian commander General Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport in reaction to a mob attack on the U.S. embassy in the Iraqi capital. Iran has vowed to hit back at the United States militarily.

And in South Asia, tensions between India and Pakistan remain high following New Delhi’s illegal annexation of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, and the disputed state’s lockdown in which nearly eight million people continue to suffer under a communications blackout.

Moreover, India has intensified violation of the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.

In his statement, the secretary-general did not name any countries, but said: “My message is simple and clear: stop escalation. Exercise maximum restraint. Restart dialogue. Renew international cooperation. Let us not forget the terrible human suffering caused by war.”

Guterres also warned that “geopolitical tensions are at their highest level this century”.

He added: “This cauldron of tensions is leading more and more countries to take unpredicted decisions with unpredictable consequences and a profound risk of miscalculation.”