Posted by
Reeson on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 10:45:08 AM
Even if the UN's numbers are correct (forgive my distrust), there's no way the total number of Iraqi casualties would come even remotely close to the estimates we have seen in the past (600,000, 750,000, 1 million, etc.). The sectarian violence didn't really pick up until the bombing of the Golden Dome Mosque last year, making those estimates wildly off base. Excerpts from
BBC News:
More than 34,000 civilians were killed in violence in Iraq during 2006, a UN human rights official has said.
The envoy to Iraq, Gianni Magazzeni, said 34,452 civilians were killed and more than 36,000 hurt during the year.
The figure is nearly three times higher than calculations previously made on the basis of Iraqi interior ministry statistics for 2006.
The BBC's Andrew North in the capital says no-one knows the true figure for how many Iraqis are dying in the conflict, but the regular UN calculations are seen as one guide.