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849 people killed in violence across Iraq in January: UN

Xinhua, February 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 849 Iraqis were killed and 1,450 others wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in January across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said in a statement on Monday.

The statement said that a total of 490 civilians and 359 security members were killed, while 1,157 other civilians, including 47 civilian policemen, and 293 security members, were wounded.

The UNAMI excluded the casualties in Anbar province where fierce clashes are underway between the Iraqi forces and the Islamic State (IS) militant group which has seized most of the province.

"In general, the UNAMI has been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas," it said, adding that "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.

According to the statement, Iraqi capital of Baghdad was the worst affected province with 1,084 civilian casualties, including 299 killed and 785 injured, while the provinces of Diyala, Nineveh, Kirkuk and Salahudin followed in the list.

"The suffering of the Iraqi people must end," the statement said, quoting UN envoy for Iraq and UNAMI chief Jan Kubis as saying.

"Kubis deplored the continuing high casualty toll, particularly a sharp increase in the number of injuries among civilians in January as compared to the previous month," the statement said.

A month ago, UNAMI put the toll of casualties in December at 508 people killed and 867 others injured in terrorist attacks and violence across the country, bringing the total number of civilians killed during the 12 months of 2015 to 7,515, and 13,855 others injured in the armed conflict in Iraq.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence since the IS terrorist group took control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions in June 2014. Endit