17 |
Civilian casualties
114.
Lord Lester
followed up that reply by asking the UK Government to
publish
the MOH
statistics on Iraqi civilian deaths and injuries. Baroness Symons
replied
on 24 June:
“There are
no reliable figures for Iraqi civilian deaths since March 2003.
The
Iraqi
Ministry of Health has informed us that the number of civilians
killed in
security
incidents is 1,203 and 3,992 wounded dating from when statistics
began
on 5 April
2004. However they reflect only hospital admissions and may not
be
comprehensive.
It is not possible to break these down into how they were killed
or
who may
have been responsible. It includes casualties caused by terrorist
action.”81
115.
The Occupation
of Iraq formally came to an end on 28 June. Power was
transferred
from the CPA and Iraqi Governing Council to the
IIG.82
116.
On 6 October,
the US media reported that the Iraqi MOH had recorded
3,487 insurgency‑related
deaths between 5 April, when the MOH began compiling
data,
and 19
September.83
According
to (unnamed) Iraqi officials, between 10 June (when
the MOH
began compiling data on cause of death) and 10 September, 1,295
Iraqis had
been killed
by “multinational forces and police” and 516 by “terrorist
operations”. The
MOH defined
terrorist operations as explosive devices in residential areas, car
bombs
and
assassinations.
117.
The US media
reported that the MOH was “convinced” that nearly all of
those
reported
dead were civilians or police and Iraqi national guardsmen, rather
than
insurgents;
family members would often not report the death of a relative who
had died
fighting
for an insurgent group.
118.
No.10 wrote to
the FCO on 11 October:
“The Prime
Minister [Mr Blair] has asked for an updated assessment of
civilian
casualties
in Iraq. This should include our
best
estimate of civilian casualties since
military
action was launched last year, what the US are saying, and a
comparison
with
figures being produced by other bodies (e.g. NGOs, Brookings)
and/or quoted
in the
media.
“The Prime
Minister is concerned that we are not getting the message
across
effectively
enough about the extent of insurgent/foreign terrorist
responsibility for
119.
Mr Robin
Cook (Labour) asked Mr Straw in the House of Commons on 12
October
whether he
had seen the MOH figures highlighted in the US media reports,
which
81
House of
Lords, Official
Report, 24 June
2004, column WA138.
82
Bremer LP
III & McConnell M. My Year in
Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope. Threshold,
2006.
83
The Seattle
Times, 6 October
2004, Iraq
Ministry Says Coalition Kills More Civilians than Insurgents
do.
84
Letter
Quarrey to PS/Straw, 11 October 2004, ‘Iraq: Civilian
Casualties’.
191