Five thousands Iraqi children died in October

The Iraqi Health Ministry said on Thursday that more than five thousand children under the age of five died in October because of the UN embargo imposed on Iraq.

The Iraqi News Agency quoted the Iraqi health ministry as saying that "some 5,369 children under five and another 2,464 elderly died during October after they suffered various diseases resulted from the continued siege imposed on Iraq for the 9th running year."

Statistics compiled by the Iraqi Ministry of Health's statistics department said that 1,811 children died as a result of diarrhea, 1,506 from breathing problems and 2,051 from malnutrition.

The ministry added that since the launch of the siege on Iraq on August 6, 1990 through the end of October, the number of children and elderly who have died as a result of the sanctions is estimated at one million and forty thousand.