Iraq: Humanitarian situation report - Update

On Sunday 30 March, aides to Moqtada al Sadr issued a statement in Najaf calling on his followers to stop battling government forces in Basrah and all other provinces. This followed the Iraqi government crackdown on so-called 'criminals and outlaws' in Basrah on 25 March, which sparked a spiral of violence in southern Iraqi towns and cities, as well as in Shi'a-dominated areas in Baghdad. In the two days since the last situation report (30 March), violence in Baghdad, Basrah, Wassit and Babylon has claimed 30 dead and 25 injured civilians and non-civilians (in Baghdad, 24 civilians and non-civilians have been killed and 25 injured; in Wassit, 5 dead and Babylon, one dead). In total, between 25 March and 1 April, 713 civilians and non-civilians have been killed and 1,541 injured in Baghdad, Basrah, Wassit and Babylon, according to UNAMI. The majority of casualties are civilians.

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Contributor: Victor K. Mugarura
Published Date: April 14, 2008