Over 6000 civilians killed in Iraq war
Exactly three months after US tanks invaded Baghdad, the capital city continues to be plagued by power and water shortages and rampant lawlessness, revealing the heavy cost paid by Iraqi civilans caught up in the war.
At least 6000 Iraqis were killed in Washington’s war against the oil-rich nation, revealed an Anglo-American research group on Wednesday.
The Iraq Body Count’s (IBC) latest figures, based on media reports and more than a dozen counting projects from independent investigators in and outside of the country, said between 6055 and 7706 civilians were killed.
New information from remote areas has pushed up the group’s previous toll.
“Both the US and UK said they were taking every effort to minimise civilian casualties and talked a lot about smart precision weapons,” said IBC researcher John Sloboda.
“One could have expected a clean war with very few casualties but I don’t call 5000 to 7000 very few,” he said.
The IBC, run by American and British scholars and peace activists, has criticised London and Washington for not setting up an official investigation into civilian deaths.
Disorder
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Most of the infrastructure and basic |
Meanwhile, ordinary Iraqis struggle through the days of sweltering summer temperatures with almost no water and electricity.
The US-led administration has managed to provide only a few hours of electricity a day. Water supplies are so low that people are forced to bathe and wash clothing in the Tigris river, where animals also drink.
Chaos continues to preside over the capital. Two people were injured when shooting erupted on Wednesday at a meeting of Iraqi private industrial firms after row between the old guard and newly appointed members.
US forces, struggling to re-instate law and order, will be partially relieved when Singapore sends a police squad to train Iraqi policemen.
Singapore, known for its tough laws and orderly neighbourhoods, will send 30 officers to Baghdad for three months to teach lessons in patrolling and guarding key administrative buildings.
It will be Singapore’s first deployment of police abroad in an operation not backed by the United Nations.