Wednesday, October 11, 2006

UN: 9,000 displaced each week, killings at 100 a day


GENEVA, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Over 1,000 Iraqis are fleeing their homes each day because of rampant violence, and revenge killings are "totally out of control", the U.N.'s top humanitarian official said on Wednesday.

Jan Egeland, U.N. Under-Secretary General, told a news conference that sectarian violence and military operations had forced over 315,000 to flee their homes in the past eight months. "Some 9,000 have been displaced every week ... even worse, perhaps 100 people are killed every day," he said.

The violence was related to sectarian killings, with Sunni Muslims being forced to flee Shi'a Muslim areas and Shias fleeing Sunni strongholds, he said.

"Revenge killings seem now to be totally out of control. Many of those killed have been killed by gunshots or tortured to death," Egeland said.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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