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Iraq says more than 9,000 killed by sanctions last month
More than 9,000 Iraqis, most of them young children, died in October because of the UN sanctions imposed on the country since 1990, the Iraqi health ministry has said.
More than 9,000 Iraqis, most of them young children, died in October because of the UN sanctions imposed on the country since 1990, the Iraqi health ministry has said.
A ministry report, published by the official Iraqi news agency on Thursday, said that 6,337 children under five and 3,202 adults died in October, from such reasons in particular as diarrhea, heart and respiratory problems and malnutrition.
Iraqi Commerce Minister Mohamed Mahdi Saleh said recently that his country has suffered more than $ 140 billion in economic losses since the embargo was imposed following Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The United Nations has allowed Iraq since December 1996 to sell a limited amount of oil for humanitarian supplies under strict UN supervision.
But two UN officials in Baghdad, humanitarian coordinator Hans Von Sponeck and World Food Programme representative Jutta Burghardt, resigned in February, saying that the oil-for-food scheme was not doing enough to help Iraqis.
Bureau Report
Iraqi Commerce Minister Mohamed Mahdi Saleh said recently that his country has suffered more than $ 140 billion in economic losses since the embargo was imposed following Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The United Nations has allowed Iraq since December 1996 to sell a limited amount of oil for humanitarian supplies under strict UN supervision.
But two UN officials in Baghdad, humanitarian coordinator Hans Von Sponeck and World Food Programme representative Jutta Burghardt, resigned in February, saying that the oil-for-food scheme was not doing enough to help Iraqis.
Bureau Report