Over 10,000 Iraqi Children, Elderly Die Under SanctionsIraq says over 10,000 children and elderly people died last month as a direct result of the decade-old United Nations sanctions imposed on it.The country's Health Ministry says the high mortality rate, due to malnutrition and medicine shortages caused by the sanctions, is in sharp contrast with the same month in 1989, when less than 800 children and elderly people died. A ministry report says over 1.3 million people in Iraq have died since the trade embargo started in 1990. Iraq has repeatedly called on the U.N. to lift the sanctions, which were imposed after Iraq invaded Kuwait. Iraq says the trade restrictions have caused a humanitarian tragedy in the country |
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