IRAQ

Recent research suggests that around half-a-million Iraqis died as a result of the war and occupation of their country between 2003 and 2011. Reliability of data on war deaths will always raise questions of a dubious nature because of the difficulties of conducting and reporting a comprehensive survey in a war zone.  Equally, too, there will always be political controversies over the figures presented. In the case of Iraq, a lower-than-expected death toll may be co-opted by those who wish to maintain that intervention was justified, the reverse holding true for detractors who will naturally imply the toll is far too high. Opposing views, however, should not distract from the fact that the tally- count is overly ghastly either way.

Much blood is still being shed in Iraq. The war itself may have officially ended when the U.S. withdrew its troops in 2011, but the death toll continues to rise. The situation is steadily worsening because of the cold-bloodied civil war in Syria. Events over the border have added to the abiding strains on Sunni-Shia relations, as well as providing extremist groups that are active throughout the region – particularly in unstable Iraq – with an incentive to push their own agendas.

Sectarian violence in Iraq reached its peak five years ago, but by any reckoning it is now back on the rise. With more than 5,000 deaths since April, this year is already the bloodiest since 2008.  In September alone, close to 1,000 people were killed – the majority of whom were Shia civilians wiped out by insurgent bombs exploding at public events like funerals or at markets. Such tactics are being used to cause maximum bloodshed.

Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Prime Minister, has not helped either. By failing to conciliate Iraq’s Sunni majority, his corrupt, Shia-dominated government has pushed the disaffected into the embrace of murderous terrorist groups. So long as the conflict in Syria continues, Iraq will continue to endure the painful repercussions.