Iraq Casualties Reached 1,688 in August Alone

War and conflict continue to harm Iraq, where 585 civilians were killed and another 1,103 injured in August alone, according to the latest report by United Nations, released Tuesday. 

Though these numbers are significant, they have decreased since the previous month, which saw 844 civilian deaths and 1,626 injured – the worst month for civilian casualties in the year 2015, according to the U.N. figures. 

The capital Baghdad was the worst affected, with 318 people killed and 751 injured in the month of August. The next worst affected region was the neighboring Diyala province that borders Iran, which saw108 killed and 162 injured.  

The report also noted that apart from civilian casualties, the Iraq Security Forces also suffered major loses with 740 fighters killed and 708 injured – these include Peshmerga forces, SWAT teams and militias fighting alongside the Iraq army.   

The ongoing war in Iraq has not only taken lives, but led to the displacement of thousands of people internally with even more fleeing the country to seek safety and stability abroad. According to U.N. figures released earlier this year, over 3 million Iraqis have been displaced between Jan. 2014 and June 4, 2015. 

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The conflict in Iraq has been aggravated over the last few years since the war in Syria with the Islamic State group spread into Iraq borders. However, heavy insurgency fighting has plagued the country since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003.   

Many of those fleeing the country are among the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are migrating to Europe, where officials don’t know how to, or aren’t willing to deal with the influx of people.