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Violence in Iraq kills at least 1,232 people in November – UN

Refugees in the Bahirka Camp near Erbil in Northern Iraq.
UNAMI
Refugees in the Bahirka Camp near Erbil in Northern Iraq.

Violence in Iraq kills at least 1,232 people in November – UN

Some 1,232 people – mostly civilians – were killed by violence in Iraq in November, the top United Nations official there said today as he called on Iraq’s political, religious and social leaders to rise above their differences and work to consolidate the democratic process.

“With nearly 12,000 people killed and nearly 22,000 injured since the beginning of 2014, Iraqis continue to be daily subjected to the unspeakable horrors of killing, maiming, reign of terror, displacement, extreme forms of intolerance and poverty”, said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov.

The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) reported that the number of civilians killed and wounded was around three times the size of the number of Iraqi Security Forces members, with civilians accounting for at least 936 of deaths and no fewer than 1,826 of those injured.

The figures for Iraqi Security Forces personnel killed amounted to 296, though the figures did not include casualties from operations in Anbar, with 608 injured.

The worst affected Governorate was Baghdad, which saw 1,253 civilian casualties, including 332 killed. Though the total casualty numbers recorded in Anbar were lower, more people – a total of 402 – were killed.

The Mission obtains its figures for casualties in Anbar Governorate from the Health Directorate there and in some cases, UNAMI could only partially verify certain incidents. The Mission also received, without being able to verify, reports of large numbers of casualties who died from secondary effects of violence after fleeing their homes.

UNAMI’s figures, which are conservative and which may under-report the actual numbers, should be considered the absolute minimum.

Summary
Month Civilian Casualties Injured
November 2014 936 1826
October 2014 856 1490
September 2014 854 1604
August 2014 1265 1198
July 2014 1186 1978
June 2014 1531 1763
May 2014 603 1108
April 2014 610 1311
March 2014 484 1104
February 2014 564 1179
January 2014 618 1052
December 2013 661 1201
November 2013 565 1186
October 2013 852 1793
September 2013 887 1957
August 2013 716 1936
July 2013 928 2109
June 2013 685 1610
May 2013 963 2191
April 2013 595 1481
March 2013 229 853
February 2013 418 704
January 2013 319 960
December 2012 230 655
November 2012 445 1306

Please note that all figures remain estimates until full investigation and analysis has been carried out.