The American government does not bother to count all the civilians who die in Iraq but a new independent report says that nearly 25,000 have been killed in violence since the US led invasion. The Guardian newspaper in the UK reports:

The number of Iraqi civilians who met violent deaths in the two years after the US-led invasion was today put at 24,865 by an independent research team.

The figures, compiled from Iraqi and international media reports, found US and coalition military forces were responsible for 37% of the deaths, with anti-occupation forces and insurgents responsible for 9%. A further 36% were blamed on criminal violence.

Civilian deaths attributed to US and coalition military forces peaked in the invasion period from March to May 2003 - which accounts for 30% of all civilian deaths in the two-year period - but the longer-term trend has been for increasing numbers to die at the hands of insurgents.

Figures obtained last week from the Iraqi interior ministry put the average civilian and police officer death toll in insurgent attacks from August 2004 to March 2005 at 800 a month.

John Sloboda of the Iraq Body Count project, which co-authored the report with Oxford Research Group, said the Iraqi civilian death toll was the "forgotten cost" of the decision to go to war in Iraq.

"On average, 34 Iraqis every day have met violent deaths since the invasion of March 2003," he said at the launch of the report in London.

"Our data shows that no sector of Iraqi society has escaped. We sincerely hope this research will help to inform decision makers around the world about the real needs of the Iraqi people as they struggle to rebuild their country."

The Iraq Body Count project is the most complete attempt of its kind to record the civilian dead in Iraq. The researchers work from media reports, information from mortuary officials and on-the-ground research projects. Its figures, which the group regards as conservative estimates, do not include irregular fighters or others who died while attacking coalition or Iraqi government forces.

Religious leaders from across the globe – including most Christian denominations – condemned the US invasion and have spoken out forcefully against the violence and mayhem that has occurred since. Our original justifications for war (claiming the Iraqi government had developed weapons of mass destruction to use against the US and were somehow linked to 9/11) have proven false and the secondary reason (to save the Iraqi people from a humanitarian disaster under the old regimen) has proven to be a sad joke at the expense of the Iraqi people.

Related Post:  A Call to Speak Out On Iraq