Everyone is talking about this study which estimates that 655,000 “excess deaths” have occurred in Iraq due to the invasion, but I thought I would mention in the headline another conclusion. This study estimates that about 500 Iraqis are dying per day due to the war, a number that I think is quite possibly true. And then there is thid report from the UN:
“Sectarian violence and military operations have now resulted in the displacement of 315,000 people in these past eight months,” Egeland — the UN under secretary general for humanitarian affairs — told reporters on Wednesday.
“One thousand people now would be displaced per day at least, and perhaps even worse is the fact that 100 people are killed every day,” he added.
The victims were mainly police recruits, judges, lawyers, journalists and women targeted for “honour crimes”, prompting a brain drain of professionals who are essential to rebuild the country, according to Egeland.
About 2,000 people are crossing the border with Syria every day, bringing the number of Iraqi refugees abroad to about 1.2 to 1.5 million, he said.
Another 1.5 million Iraqis are now displaced within their own country, the UN estimates.
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