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At least 1,325 people killed in Iraq's violence in August: UN

Xinhua, September 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

A total of 1,325 Iraqis were killed and 1,811 others injured in terrorist attacks and violence in August in Iraq, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said in a statement on Tuesday.

A total of 585 civilians, including 20 policemen and 740 Iraqi security forces personnel, were killed, while 1,103 other civilians, including 44 policemen and 708 security members, were wounded, according to the statement.

The total figures of killed and wounded civilians included the casualties in the volatile province of Anbar, which suffered a total of 187 civilian casualties including 39 killed and 148 injured, according to the statement which obtained the information from the Health Directorate of Anbar province, most of which the Islamic State (IS) militant group has seized.

"Casualty figures obtained from the Anbar Health Directorate might not fully reflect the real number of casualties in those areas due to the increased volatility of the situation on the ground and the disruption of services," the statement said.

"In general, the UNAMI has been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas," it said. "The figures reported have to be considered as the absolute minimum."

It added that there are an unknown number of people who died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicine and health care.

The statement noted that the Iraqi capital of Baghdad was the worst affected province with 1,069 civilian casualties, including 318 killed and 751 injured, while the provinces of Diyala, Nineveh, Salahudin, and Kirkuk followed in the list.

"With the steadily increasing number of casualties, internally displaced persons, and the alarming rate of Iraqis fleeing war, persecution and poverty to seek refuge abroad, the successful implementation of the government reform plan will be paramount to restore order, legality and social justice in the country and renew confidence in the fair participation of all in the society," the statement said, quoting UN envoy for Iraq and UNAMI chief Jan Kubis as saying.

The security situation in Iraq has drastically deteriorated since June 2014, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and hundreds of militants from the IS.

The militants took control of the country's northern city of Mosul and later seized swathes of territories after Iraqi security forces abandoned their posts in Nineveh and other predominantly Sunni provinces.

Earlier, an UNAMI report estimated about 14,136 civilians were killed and 29,189 others wounded in the armed conflict in Iraq since Jan. 1, 2014 to the end of April 2015. Endit