Civilians continue to pay a heavy price due to terrorism, violence and armed conflict
| Publisher | UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) |
| Publication Date | 3 May 2015 |
| Cite as | UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Civilians continue to pay a heavy price due to terrorism, violence and armed conflict, 3 May 2015, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/55b615494.html [accessed 20 December 2015] |
According to casualty figures released today by UNAMI, a total of 812 Iraqis were killed and another 1,726 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in April 2015*.
The number of civilians killed 535 (including 30 civilian police and casualty figures in Anbar), and the number of civilians injured was 1,456 (including 58 civilian police and casualty figures in Anbar).
A further 277 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (including Peshmerga, SWAT and militias fighting alongside the Iraqi Army / Not including casualties from Anbar Operations) were killed and 270 were injured.
Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate with 1,165 civilian casualties (319 killed, 846 injured). Diyala suffered 26 killed and 55 injured; Kirkuk suffered 30 killed and 18 injured; Salahadin 34 killed and 13 injured; and Ninewa 33 killed and 3 injured. According to information obtained by UNAMI from the Health Directorate in Anbar, the Governorate suffered a total of 601 civilian casualties (88 killed and 513. injured). This included 21 killed and 249 injured in Ramadi and 67 killed and 264 injured in Fallujah.
"Scores of innocent Iraqis are falling every day, victims of criminal terrorist acts and of the ongoing armed conflict in some of the country's provinces", SRSG Jan Kubiš noted.
CAVEATS: In general, UNAMI has been hindered in effectively verifying casualties in conflict areas. Figures for casualties from Anbar Governorate are provided by the Health Directorate and are noted below. 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. In some cases, UNAMI could only partially verify certain incidents. UNAMI has also received, without being able to verify, reports of large numbers of casualties along with unknown numbers of persons who have died from secondary effects of violence after having fled their homes due to exposure to the elements, lack of water, food, medicines and health care. For these reasons, the figures reported have to be considered as the absolute minimum.
UNAMI also received reports that up to 300 Yezidi men, captured by ISIL in August 2014 and forcibly converted to Islam, may have been murdered in Tal Afar on 27 April. UNAMI is attempted to verify these reports, which may significantly alter the minimum civilian casualty figures for the month.
