United Nations ? U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called Monday on the Iraqi government to do more to foster national unity, warning the violence-ridden country was in “grave danger” of collapsing into civil war.

He also urged more “urgent international engagement,” saying a lack of sufficient support would “guarantee” the failure of efforts to secure peace.

Annan was addressing a meeting of foreign ministers, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to discuss the implementation of the Compact for Iraq, a five-year plan to ensure Iraq’s government has funds to survive and enact key political and economic reforms.

Iraqi leaders are “at an important crossroads” as the country faces a persistent insurgency and rampant sectarian violence, Annan said.

“If they can address the needs and common interests of all Iraqis, the promise of peace and prosperity is still within reach,” he said. “But if current patterns of alienation and violence persist much longer, there is a grave danger that the Iraqi state will break down, possibly in the midst of a full-scale civil war.”

“The most immediate task is to broaden support for the kind of action – at the national, regional and international levels – that can bring Iraq from the brink,” he said.

Iraqis dance in front of a burning vehicle in Baghdad, Iraq, after a roadside bomb targeting a convoy of foreign private security guards exploded. Two occupants were injured, police said. At the United Nations on Monday, leaders from around the world met to discuss how to keep Iraq on track and avoid civil war.

The Iraqis, in turn, promised to tackle security issues, address the problem of illegally armed groups and promote a national reconciliation plan aimed at embracing all groups that condemn terror and violence.

“We don’t have a choice. We must succeed,” Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told reporters, speaking on a day in which bombers and gunmen across Iraq killed at least 41 people.

Authorities also found at least five bodies, including two women, that probably were victims of reprisal killings being waged between Shiite and Sunni Arabs

The International Compact for Iraq was set up in June, shortly after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office, to “consolidate peace and pursue political, economic and social development.” Monday’s meeting, held on the eve of the annual U.N. General Assembly debate, was one of a series to discuss the details.

U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said another meeting on the compact would be held in early October in Baghdad and expressed hope the plans would be finalized by the end of the year.