UNITED NATIONS — The UN envoy in Iraq is expressing shock that deliberate flooding from a dam in Fallujah is being used as an instrument of terror against the Iraqi people.

Envoy Nickolay Mladenov visited the city of Abu-Ghraib west of Baghdad and downstream from the dam on Wednesday and spoke out against intentional flooding that has displaced over 12,000 families and submerged hundreds of houses and at least four schools.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Mladenov called on the government, Iraqi security forces, local authorities and tribal leaders to work jointly and quickly to restore legitimate control over the Euphrates River. He did not say who caused the flooding.

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Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.