IN figures it calls “staggering”, the United Nations says almost 19,000 civilians have been killed and more than 36,000 have been wounded in violence in Iraq since the start of 2014.

In a new joint report published yesterday, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights listed a large number of atrocities committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.

It also called on the government to do more to help stop sectarian violence and help displaced families return to their homes.

“Even the obscene casualty figures fail to accurately reflect exactly how terribly civilians are suffering in Iraq,” UN rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said in a statement yesterday.

“The figures capture those who were killed or maimed by overt violence, but countless others have died from the lack of access to basic food, water or medical care.”

The UN’s figures are based on casualties reported between January 2014 and October 2015.