ALMOST 19,000 IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED SINCE 2014?

UN documents more than 55,000 civilian casualties and 3.2 million people displaced by violence in 22-month period.

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

In a new joint report published on Tuesday, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq and the Office of the UN 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 stop sectarian violence and help displaced families to return to their homes.

The joint report highlighted abuses committed by ISIL, saying that about 3,500 people were currently being held as slaves in Iraq by the armed group. 

"Those being held are predominantly women and children and come primarily from the Yazidi community, but a number are also from other ethnic and religious minority communities," the UN report said.

Source: Al Jazeera...More...