UN releases Iraq civilian casualty figures for April, condemns ISISDaesh attack

The United Nations (UN) has released the number of civilians killed across Iraq in the month of April as the organization’s envoy to the nation condemned an attack by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS\Daesh) that occurred the day before.

The United Nations (UN) has released the number of civilians killed across Iraq in the month of April as the organization’s envoy to the nation condemned an attack by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS\Daesh) that occurred the day before.

The statement released by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said that the agency had recorded a total of 68 Iraqi civilians killed and other 122 injured in “acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict” last month.

The figures include only “ordinary citizens and others considered civilian at the time of death or injury,” and do not reflect casualties of those in security forces.

The figure shows a drop from the previous month, which saw 104 Iraqi civilians killed and another 177 injured. Contributing to the March spike in casualties was a string of fake checkpoint attacks claimed by the so-called Islamic State (ISIS\Daesh) that killed over 50 security forces and civilians, mainly on the road between Baghdad and Kirkuk.

During the month of April, Anbar was the worst affected province, with 24 civilians killed and 29 injured, followed by Baghdad with 8 killed and 30 injured, and Kirkuk with 10 killed and 21 injured.

The UN warned that the figures “have to be considered as the absolute minimum,” as they had been hindered from effectively verifying casualties in certain areas “due to volatility of the situation on the ground and the disruption of services.”

Also on Wednesday, UN Special Representative for Iraq Ján Kubiš strongly condemned an incident that occurred the previous night, in which gunmen opened fire on unarmed civilians, killing and wounding several in the town of Tarmiyah, 25 km north of Baghdad. ISIS\Daesh later claimed responsibility for the attack in an online statement.