The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has announced that it recorded a total of 19,266 civilian casualties in Iraq in eight months of 2016, made up of 6,878 killed and 12,388 wounded.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq, Ján Kubiš, said in a press statement that the casualty figures excluded four months – May, July, August and December.
“In December, a total of 386 Iraqi civilians were killed and another 1,066 were injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict.
“These casualty figures do not include the civilian casualty figures for Anbar for the months of May, July, August and December.
“Though the figures for December are lower than previous months, we are nevertheless noticing an increase in terrorist bombings towards the end of the month and in the last couple of days, targeting civilians.
“This is, no doubt, an attempt by Daesh to divert attention from their losses in Mosul and, unfortunately, it is the innocent civilians who are paying the price,” Kubiš said.
The UN envoy for Iraq strongly condemned the New Year’s triple bombings in Baghdad in which large numbers of civilians were killed and injured.
“This is outrageous. Terrorists of Daesh who are steadily losing ground in Iraq are now trying to sow terror and discord.
“They will fail here as they are failing at the frontlines.
“I call on the authorities to do their utmost in order to speedily bring the perpetrators to justice,” he added.
The UN envoy extended his condolences to the families of the victims as well as wishing the injured a speedy recovery. (NAN)