- Poor planning, air strikes by coalition forces and a
"climate of violence" have led to more than 100,000 extra deaths
in Iraq, scientists say.
-
- A study published by the Lancet claims the risk of death
by violence for civilians in Iraq is now 58 times higher than before the
US-led invasion.
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- It condemns the coalition's planning on public health
as "grievously in error".
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- The Lancet admits the research is based on a small sample
- under 1,000 homes - but says the findings are "convincing".
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- Air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most
of the violent deaths
- Dr Les Roberts
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- Scientists from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health in the US city of Baltimore gathered data on births and deaths
since January 2002 from 33 clusters of 30 households each across Iraq.
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- They found the relative risk of death was one-and-a-half
times higher for Iraqi civilians after the 2003 invasion than in the preceding
15 months.
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- That figure jumps to two-and-a-half times higher if data
from Falluja - the scene of repeated heavy fighting - is included.
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- Before the invasion, most people died as a result of
heart attack, stroke and chronic illness, the report says, whereas after
the invasion, "violence was the primary cause of death."
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- Violent deaths were mainly attributed to coalition forces
- and most individuals reportedly killed were women and children.
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- Dr Les Roberts, who led the study, said: "Making
conservative assumptions we think that about 100,000 excess deaths, or
more, have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
-
- "Violence accounted for most of the excess deaths
and air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most of the violent
deaths."
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- He said his team's work proved it was possible to compile
data on public health "even during periods of extreme violence".
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- The sample included randomly selected households in Baghdad,
Basra, Arbil, Najaf and Karbala, as well as Falluja.
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- Democratic imperialism has led to more deaths not fewer
- Lancet editor Richard Horton
-
- Lancet editor Richard Horton said: "With the admitted
benefit of hindsight and from a purely public health perspective, it is
clear that whatever planning did take place was grievously in error."
-
- He went on: "Democratic imperialism has led to more
deaths not fewer. This political and military failure continues to cause
scores of casualties among non-combatants."
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- He urges the coalition forces to rethink their strategy
to "prevent further unnecessary human casualties".
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- "For the sake of a country in crisis and for a people
under daily threat of violence, the evidence we publish today must change
heads as well as pierce hearts," he said.
-
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/3962969.stm
- © BBC MMIV
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