Violence Continue to Take a Terrible Toll on ALL Iraqis: UN

At least 1,031 Iraqis killed, 1,684 others wounded in May 2015

A total of at least 1,031 Iraqis were killed and another 1,684 were wounded in acts of armed conflict, terrorism and violence across Iraq in May 2015*, according to casualty figures released by UNAMI today (June 1, 2015).

The fatalities included 665 civilians, and 366 members of the Iraqi Security Forces (including Peshmerga, SWAT and militias fighting alongside the Iraqi Army / Not including casualties from Anbar Operations).

Up to 240,000 persons have been displaced from and within Anbar Governorate to date, UNAMI reported.

“Current developments in and around the city of Ramadi and in Anbar Governorate once again showed grave consequences of ISIL’s actions for civilians, as around 237,786 individuals have been displaced from and within Anbar Governorate to date, while thousands were killed and injured, sometimes in the most horrendous way”, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq Jan Kubiš said, underscoring that a military solution alone will not be enough to defeat ISIL. “For any military gains to be sustainable, the government of Iraq must adopt a set of confidence-building measures towards disaffected communities, enabling them to assume a share in governing their matters, and assuring them of the State’s ability to ensure their protection from violence, to deliver justice and create conditions for their fair participation in society”, SRSG Kubiš further stated.

* 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.