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• 12 • Information and liaison bulletin n° 261 • December 2006 review Russia in global politics. The two countries intend to raise their trade from its present level of about $300 million to $600 million, according to the Russian diplomat. Mr. Assad, whose country had been the principal Near Eastern ally of the ex-USSR, made his first visit to Russia in 2005, thus renewing bi-lateral cooperation. Syria continues to buy the bulk of its weaponry from Russia. According to the official daily paper Al-Baas, quoting the Syrian Ministry of the Interior, Syria has received more than 800,000 Iraqi refugees since the beginning of the conflict in their country. Of this total, 648,000 Iraqis reached Syria in the months immediately following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, according to a Ministry official quoted by the paper. This influx of refugees can be attributed to the Syrian laws that make it easy to obtain a visa for Arabs as well as Syria’s proximity to Iraq. Iraqi refugees can secure a one-year residence permit, renewable annually if they have a regular source of income in Syria, own property or enrol their children in a Syrian school, according to the official cited by Al-Baas. The majority of the Iraqi refugees have settle in or around Damascus. Most of them come from the middle classes and are living on their savings. Furthermore, Syria and Iraq have re-opened embassies in their respective capitals. Damascus and Baghdad have thus put an end to a diplomatic breach of over 20 years. The Iraqi flag was thus hoisted over the Iraqi Embassy in Damascus during a ceremony attended by Syrian and Iraqi leaders. A similar ceremony took place in the Mansur quarter of Baghdad, outside the green zone, the authorities declared on 11 December. Iraq and Syrian had broken off diplomatic relations when Damascus sided with Iran during the Iraq-Iran war, in the 80s. The two governments agreed, the month before, to re-establish full diplomatic relations during a visit to Baghdad by the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem. half were killed in the last four months of the year victims of acts described as terrorist by the Iraqi authorities. Of these, half were killed in the last four months of the year. The Ministry reports 1,930 civilians killed in December – a figure three and a half as great as January’s (580), which was before the tide of violence following the bomb attack against the Shiite mosque in Samarra, in February. The Ministry of the Interior recorded the deaths, in December, of 125 Iraqi police and 25 soldiers – figures similar to those for November and October. The US Army, for its part, announced the deaths of 112 US soldiers in December – its heaviest casualty list in two years. On 31 December, the Pentagon announced the death of a Texan soldier in Baghdad, bringing the total of Americans killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war to at least 3,000, according to a body count made by Associated Press based on official communiqués. At least 820 US soldiers were killed in Iraq in 2006, 111 of whom in December, the most murderous month that year. THE NUMBER OF IRAQI CIVILIAN VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE REACHES AN UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL IN DECEMBER T he number of Iraqi civilian victims of violence reached a record level in December, after having considerably increased the month before, as shown by figures coming from the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. The number of civilians killed in Iraq in November increased by 43% as compared with October, itself particularly bloody. According to figures from the Ministries of the Interior and Defence, 1,847 civilians were killed in November throughout Iraq, as against 1,289 in October, marred by murderous attack on the occasion of Ramadan. Furthermore, the number of insurgents killed in November was more than twice as many as in October, reaching 423 as against 194 the month before, according to the two Ministries. The statistics, that are considered to be indicative, rather than necessarily covering all the deaths from violence, show 12,320 civilians killed in 2006, Of these, Further more, according to a Pentagon report published on 19 December, Iraq experienced 959 attacks a week between 12 August and 10 November – a record since Congress demanded, in 2005, that the Pentagon set up this kind of report. “In the course of the last three months; the number of attacks has increased by 22%. Part of this increase is due to the seasonal peak in violence during the month of Ramadan”, stresses this report, to the US Congress, which covers the period from 12 August to 10 November. The Pentagon report points out that the coalition forces remain the principle target of these attacks
n° 261 • December 2006 Information and liaison bulletin • 13 • (68%) and that half of these attacks took place in only two provinces, (Baghdad and Anbar). But, in terms of the death-roll, it is the Iraqis who suffered most. The number of civilian victims (killed and injured) increased by 2% over the period examined. The Pentagon points out, however, that violence against Iraqi civilians remains localised. “Outside the Sunni triangle, more than 90%if Iraqis feel very safe in their neibourhoods”, the report claims. It also stresses that “the number of attacks against infrastructures has continued to drop” but that “the cumulative effect of their attacks and the ineffectiveness of the repairs and maintenance” of these infrastructures weighs heavily on the supply of essential services for the Iraqis. The report, moreover, considers that the political process of national reconciliation “has made little progress”, “sectarian violence in Iraq has considerably increased despite the meetings between religious and tribal leaders”. As against this, the Pentagon recognises that “violence in Iraq creates a serious threat to political progress”. “The group that at present has the most negative impact on the security situation in Iraq is the Mahdi’s Army, that has replaced Al- Qaida in Iraq as the most dangerous accelerator of lasting sectarian violence in Iraq”; states the report with reference to the militia run by the radical Shiite chief Moqtada Sadr. The report also shows that, at present, only two provinces are not ready for transferring responsibility from the Coalition to the Iraqi forces: al-Anbar (West) and Basra (South). Two provinces, Muthanna and Dhi Qar (South), have already been transferred to the Iraqis and others are ready or partly ready for transfer. All statistics in Iraq are controversial. The figure of 3,700 civilians killed in October, the latest figure put forward by the United Nations, based on data provided by the Ministry of Healthand the Baghdad morgue, are considered exagerated by the Iraqi government. According to UNO's figures, an average of 120 civilians are killed every day. The Associated Press news agency calculates its figures of American casualties since 2003, on the basis of official communiqués, thus: - Number of troops died in Iraq since the end of the main combat operations was announced on 30 April 2003: 2,861 - Percent of the troops killed since 30 April 2003: 95%. - The bloodiest months since the beginning of the war, in March 2003: November 2004 (137 dead); April 2004 (135); December 2006 (111); January 2005 (107); October 2006 (105). - Percent deaths by military corps: land Arny (68%); Marines (29%); Navy (2%); Air Force (1%): A single death is recorded amongst the Coast Guards. - Percent deaths by terms of service: active service (79%); National Guard (13%); Reservists (8%). - The, ost murderous Iraqi provices: Anbar (1,115 deaths); Baghdad (686); Salaheddin (336); Nineveh (193); Babil (93). - Percent deaths due to nonhostile action: 20%. - Deaths from sickness: 56. - Percent killed by home-made bombs in the last year: 44%. - Percent officers amongst those killed: 10%. - Number of killed over 45 years: 70. - Number of killed under 18: 26. - Number of women killed: 62. - Percent women amongst the dead: 2%. - Percent deaths by community: Whites 72%, Hispanics 11%, Blacks or Afro-Americans 9%, Undetermined 5%, Asians 2%, Native Americans 1%, Hawaians or Pacific Islanders 1%. - Number of dead from California (the State with the highest casualties) 308. - Number of dead from Wyoming (the State with the lowest casualties) 8. - Number of dead from Texas 263. - Number of dead from New York State 137 - Number of dead Porto Ricans: 24. - Percent of deaths from Southern States (as defined by US Census): 36%. - Percent deaths from North-East States (as defined by US Census): 15%. - Dates for passing each stage of 500 killed since March 2003: - 500 17 January 2004. - 1,000 7 September 2004. - 1,500 3 March 2005. - 2,000 25 October 2005. - 2,500 15 June 2006. - 3,000 31 December 2006. American losses in Iraq compared with the other major conflicts in which the US has been engaged: 3,000 as of 31 December 2006. - WWI : 116,000 - Vietnam: 58,000 - Korea: 36,000 Guilf War I: 382 N. B. Figures based on those of the US Defence Department and
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