IRAQ: NGO calls for accurate civilian death toll

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/094f61b6cf762ad00d567ab3a908a96c.htm

BAGHDAD, 14 December (IRIN) - A Washington-based humanitarian organisation urged the US government this week to accurately count and identify all civilian casualties of the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, following a recent announcement by US President George Bush that 30,000 Iraqi civilians had been killed to date.

"CIVIC believes the US military needs to keep statistics on civilian casualties, particularly those caused by US actions in Iraq," read a statement from the Campaign for Innocent Victims of Conflict (CIVIC).

Tara Sutton, Acting Field Director of CIVIC, said she believed that records were only being kept "to a certain extent" in the form of "after-incident reports" filed by the US military after any armed engagement.

"Keeping accurate statistics on civilian casualties is not only the right thing to do in conflict, it mitigates resentment among Iraqi citizens and will help the military minimize harm to civilians in the future," she said.