The Common Ills: Iraq: 1220 die from violence in September

Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Iraq: 1220 die from violence in September

Iraq Body Count notes the death toll for September from violence is 1220. UNAMI's count was a little lower in the statement they released today:

Baghdad, 1 October 2013 – According to casualty figures released today by UNAMI, a total of 979 Iraqis were killed and another 2,133 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in September.

The number of civilians killed was 887 (including 127 civilian police), while the number of civilians injured was 1,957 (including 199 civilian police). A further 92 members of the Iraqi Security Forces were killed and 176 were injured. “As terrorists continue to target Iraqis indiscriminately, I call upon all political leaders to strengthen their efforts to promote national dialogue and reconciliation,” the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, said. “Political, religious and civil leaders as well as the security services must work together to end the bloodshed and ensure that all Iraqi citizens feel equally protected," he added.
Baghdad was the worst-affected governorate in September, with 1,429 civilian casualties (418 killed and 1011 injured), followed by Ninewa, Diyala, Salahuddin and Anbar. Kirkuk, Erbil, Babil, Wasit, Dhi-Qar and Basra also reported casualties (double-digit figures).

And AFP's WG Dunlop Tweets:

Those are the only three bodies known to keep their own count (besides Nouri's laughable government). Iraq Body Count's been doing this for over a decade. They've earned a reputation for reliability. The United Nations also has a strong reputation. AFP? Prashant Rao started that count and did so because of the vastly lower figures the Iraqi government repeatedly offered. AFP remains the only press outlet to keep their own count. (Antiwar.com, I believe, keeps their own count. So let's change that to the only MSM press outlet to keep their own count. There's nothing up now, if they post later today, we'll note it in the snapshot.)

Shame of the press today?

In fairness to Reuters, many outlets are ignoring Iraq.

So Reuters deserves credit for coverage.

But it also deserves calling out. Both Reuters and AP work from the UN figure 0f 979 deaths. AP headlines their report "Iraq attacks leave almost 1,000 dead in September" and Reuters goes with "Iraq violence kills nearly 900 in September, gunmen storm police station."

What?

How do you use 979 (UNAMI's figure) and say nearly 900 were killed?

By dividing:

Nearly 900 civilians were killed across Iraq in September as sectarian violence worsened, raising the death toll for 2013 to more than last year's total, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Most of the bloodshed was instigated by Sunni Islamist militants. In addition to 887 civilians, 92 members of the security forces were killed.

I'm sorry, that's just crap. First off, the dead security members? They were Iraqis. Second of all, the 887 civilians?

Not all Iraqis. Some were visitors to the country.

Their deaths matter, no question. I loathe Nouri's SWAT forces but their deaths matter as well.

Reuters creates a false division and their headline is just an outright lie. "Iraq violence kills nearly 900 in September"? No, it killed 979 according to the source you used. There are enough divisions and divisiveness in Iraq already. The press should not be creating more.

Glenn Greenwald's online, so let's wrap up.

The following community sites -- plus Ms. magazine, Antiwar.com, the Guardian, Adam Kokesh, On the Widler Side, Chocolate City, Pacifica Evening News and Black Agenda Report -- updated last night and this morning: