A total of around 30,000 Iraqis died in July and August as a result of UN sanctions imposed on their country, Health Minister umid Medhat Mubarak said today.
Mr Mubarak, in a statement broadcast by Iraqi satellite television, said "around 30,000 people died over July and August as the result of various illnesses, inadequate nutrition and medication, and the pursuit of daily aggressions on the country."
On September 28th, the minister said a total of more than 1.7 million people had died since the sanctions were imposed 12 years ago.
He added at the time that American and British use during the 1991 Gulf War of ammunition filled with depleted uranium was continuing to cause numerous cases of cancer and congenital birth defects.
Iraq regularly charges US and British members of the UN sanctions committee of blocking contracts signed under a UN humanitarian program with the intention of harming its people.
AFP