Casualties from Violent Conflicts Exceed Combat Deaths

How many people perish during warfare? Tallying combatant deaths is a narrow approach, since both military personnel and civilians are killed in battle. In many conflicts, however, a large number of victims perish not because of battle wounds but due to the disease and starvation resulting from a collapsing economy and health system.

The British medical journal The Lancet published a study that estimated conservatively that the U.S.-British invasion of Iraq caused at least 98,000 deaths in the 17-19 months after the start of the war, many from air strikes. The study concluded that the risk of death from violence after the invasion was 58 times higher than in the 14-16 months before the war.

Vital Signs
Purchase a print version or electronic PDF of Vital Signs 2005.

References
"Violent Conflicts Unchanged," in Vital Signs 2005, pp. 74-75

Links
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo: http://www.prio.no/
The Lancet, http://www.thelancet.com/