Civilians take the brunt of postwar Iraqi violence ( 2003-10-22 00:33) (Reuters)
In the violence of postwar Iraq, civilians are overwhelmingly the victims,
killed by bombs aimed at others, nervous US soldiers and random shootouts.
The number of Iraqis killed since the war which ousted Saddam Hussein in
April eclipses the death toll among US soldiers who face daily attacks from
guerrillas fighting the occupation of the country.
Since President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1, 104 US
soldiers have been killed in hostile fire.
Iraq Body Count, an Anglo-American research group tracking deaths of Iraqis,
says at least 5,700 died during the six-week war. But soaring violence since the
US takeover has killed a further 2,000 to 2,200 civilians.
Suicide bombers aiming for foreign targets in the Iraqi capital such as the
United Nations, the Jordanian embassy and the Baghdad Hotel have killed more
Iraqis than foreigners -- local employees, security guards and passers-by.
As concrete fortifications are erected around embassies, hotels and buildings
used by Western organisations and the US-led administration in Baghdad, it is
Iraqis left on the other side of the walls who are the most likely victims of
future attacks.
"We are waiting for something to happen," said 23-year-old Ali Abdul Hussein,
who earns $80 a month guarding a Western embassy. "We have heard about the
attacks on other embassies and we know this may be our fate.
Roadside bombs meant for US soldiers explode every day, often missing the
military convoys for which they were intended and killing or maiming Iraqi
civilians.
A bomb planted in northern Baghdad last month hit two civilian buses, killing
one person and wounding more than 20. Another bomb found in the town of Baquba
at the weekend went off as police were trying to clear the area, killing a
civilian and wounding 19 with burning shrapnel.
"Although these attacks may be targeted, the consequence is that they kill
people indiscriminately," said Nada Doumani, spokeswoman for the International
Committee of the Red Cross in Baghdad. "It is civilians who are paying the
price."
UNDER FIRE
Anti-American bombers are not the only threat to Iraqi civilians. According
to a report by Human Rights Watch, US troops have killed at least 20 civilians
in Baghdad since May 1.
Hundreds more Iraqis have been killed in street violence in a country where
most people keep guns at home and have been readier to use them since the end of
Saddam's authoritarian rule.
Gun battles between armed looters and vigilantes, business rivals and feuding
families are common on Iraq's streets. Hapless civilians are often caught in the
crossfire.
The US-led military occupiers and the new Iraqi police force say they are
making progress towards ending the violence by arresting criminals and
confiscating arms. US officials say they are doing everything they can to avoid
civilian casualties.
The New York-based rights group said it had collected "credible reports" of a
total of 94 civilians killed by American soldiers in the Iraqi capital, at
checkpoints, in raids and after attacks on US patrols, when twitchy soldiers
sometimes spray the area around them with gunfire.
Two civilians were killed this week in the town of Falluja, west of Baghdad,
in a firefight which followed an attack on a US military convoy, witnesses said.
The US military does not keep a record of civilian deaths.
The report said just a handful of alleged killings had been investigated at
senior level, and soldiers were not held accountable for their actions.
"It's a tragedy that US soldiers have killed so many civilians in Baghdad,"
said Joe Stork, head of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa
division. "But it's really incredible that the US military doesn't even count
these deaths."
"The military intervention was supposed to make life better for Iraqis and
give them a measure of freedom," Iraq Body Count researcher Hamit Dardagan told
Reuters. "But violence and terror is not freedom."
