Al Jazeera has published a new report stating that the number of direct and indirect deaths resulting from U.S.-led wars and military operations since 2001 has reached between 4.5 million and 4.7 million. Of these, around 940,000 people were killed directly in combat, while between 3.6 million and 3.8 million others died as a result of the indirect effects of the wars.
Based on figures from Brown University’s “Costs of War” project, Al Jazeera reported that the main causes of indirect deaths include the destruction of economies and healthcare systems, the collapse of infrastructure, disease, malnutrition, and other health-related problems. According to the report, Afghanistan suffered 176,000 direct war-related deaths, Iraq 315,000, Syria 269,000, Yemen 112,000, and Pakistan 67,000.
The report further states that more than 38 million people have been displaced in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, the Philippines, Libya, and Syria as a result of these wars.