15,000 killed in deadliest year in Iraq since 2007

Violence in Iraq killed more than 15,000 civilians and security personnel in 2014, government figures have shown, making it one of the deadliest years since the 2003 US-led invasion. Figures compiled by the health, interior and defence ministries and published on Thursday put the death toll at 15,538, compared with 17,956 killed in 2007 during the height of Sunni-Shia sectarian killings. The death toll was more than double the 6,522 people killed in 2013.

Yet again, the Iraqi ordinary citizen continues to suffer from violence and terrorism. 2014 has seen the highest number of causalities since the violence in 2006-2007. This is a very sad state of affairs.

U.N. Iraq envoy, Nickolay Mladenov

Iraq’s latest violence was sparked by the demolition of the country’s main Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp near Ramadi in late 2013. The year got off to a bloody start, with the government losing control of parts of Anbar provincial capital Ramadi and all of Fallujah — just a short drive from Baghdad — to anti-government fighters. Security forces later withdrew from areas of both cities, leaving them open for capture. That was a harbinger of events in June, when the Islamic State spearheaded a major offensive that swept security forces aside. Iraqi soldiers and police, backed by Kurdish fighters, Shia militias and Sunni tribesmen have succeeded in regaining some ground from the group, but large parts of the country, including three major cities, remain outside Baghdad’s control.

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