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Iraqi deaths hit record high
22/11/2006 14:57 - (SA)
Geneva - The number of Iraqi civilians killed in October reached a new monthly high of 3 709, the United Nations said on Wednesday.
Said Arikat, spokesperson for the UN assistance mission in Iraq, said the toll was given in the latest human rights report, which covers September and October. It exceeded the previous monthly high of 3 590 in July.
UN officials blamed the increase on the growing influence of armed militias and rampant torture "despite the government's commitment to address human rights abuses".
"Hundreds of bodies continued to appear in different areas of Baghdad handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture and execution-style killing," the officials quoted the report as saying.
"Many witnesses reported that perpetrators wear militia attire and even police or army uniforms."
Arikat, who spoke by telephone from Baghdad, said officials were about to release the full report, but a summary released in advance said it "paints a grim picture virtually across the board, from attacks on journalists, judges and lawyers and the worsening situation of women to displacement, violence against religious minorities and the targeting of schools".
"The civilian population of Iraq continues to be victims of terrorist acts, roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, crossfire between rival gangs, or between police and insurgents, kidnappings, military operations, crime and police abuse," the officials quoted the report as saying.
Sectarian violence appears to be the main source of the violence, it said.
The summary said the death toll was based on figures from the Iraqi health ministry, hospitals throughout the country and the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad.
The toll for September and October combined was 7 054 civilians killed, including 351 women and 110 children, it said.
- AP
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