MESOP : MUSINGS ON IRAQ – Deaths In Iraq Return To Civil War Levels In June 2014
| Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:55 AM PDT -June 2014 has seen open fighting between the insurgents and government forces in six of Iraq’s 18 provinces. There have also been continued terrorist attacks in Baghdad. All together that has led to the highest casualty figures since the civil war years. Iraq Body Count (IBC) had 1,934 fatalities. It counts civilians, police and members of the Sahwa, but not soldiers. Iraq’s Defense, Interior, and Health Ministries reported 1,922 deaths. Those were the highest amounts since August 2007 when IBC had 2,481 and Baghdad had 2,138. 2,417 was the figure given in a U.N. press release.
That did not include Anbar, because the violence there has kept the United Nation out of the province. That was the most since March 2008’s 2,011. Agence France Presse did not have its numbers totaled yet by the end of June. Finally Musings On Iraq recorded 2,719. The real ferocity of the current violence is better shown by the daily averages. IBC and the Iraqi government both had 64 people killed in Iraq per day in June. That was followed by the U.N.’s 80 per day, and Musings On Iraq’s 90. In comparison, IBC, Baghdad and the United Nations only had 30-33 deaths per day in April, while Musings On Iraq had 47 showing how casualties have doubled during the current insurgent offensive. Even these new annual highs only capture part of the picture for the month. For one, the Iraqi government has stopped mentioning its losses during the fighting. Everyday it reports on firefights with insurgents, but it says nothing about its casualties. With Baghdad rushing in new recruits with only a few days of training it’s likely they are suffering high losses, but nothing can be confirmed due to the media blackout on the topic. Secondly, the violence has kept journalists away from many areas so civilian casualties are obviously being missed as well. Reporting on Iraqi deaths is never complete due to the situation on the ground in the country. Now with fierce battles across central Iraq the ability to cover all of the dead and wounded has become even more difficult, but at the same time they are one of the only hard numbers that can be used to track the current security crisis.
Deaths In Iraq 2003-2013
* Figures do not include Anbar
SOURCES
Agence France Presse, “Iraq says death toll in June highest since May 2007,” 6/30/14
Glanz, James, “Civilian Death Toll Falls in Baghdad but Rises Across Iraq,” New York Times, 9/2/07
Iraq Body Count
Nickolay Mladenov, “Iraq Casualties Increase Dramatically in June,” 7/1/14
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