Under the pretext of eliminating alleged threats from radical groups, the war conflicts triggered by Washington since 2001 have still caused sufferings to civilians, according to a report from the Costs of War Project of the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs of Brown University, in Rhode Island.

The analysis showed “how death survives the war” by examining individuals who died in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

“In a place like Afghanistan, the question is whether any death can be nowadays considered as unrelated to war. Clashes often kill far more people indirectly than in combat, especially kids,” the report author Stephanie Savell said in a statement quoted by the Common Dreams site.

The publication “reviews latest research to examine causal pathways that have led to an estimated 3.7 million indirect deaths in post-9/11 conflicts,” when a terror attack in New York killed nearly 3,000 people.

Even though overall death toll is not known exactly, the analysis estimated that total toll of the wars could involve at least 4,500,000 casualties.

Savell added the research indicated how more people, especially children and members of marginalized populations, died because of clashes due to rising poverty, food insecurity, environmental contamination, ongoing violence, as well as the destruction of health care centers and public infrastructure.

According to the report, “the vast majority of war deaths are due to malnutrition, problems related to pregnancy and childbirth, and many diseases, including infectious and non-communicable diseases such as cancer.”

Savell stated warring sides that damage infrastructure with an impact on people´s health have a moral obligation to provide prompt and effective assistance.

“The U.S. government could do much more than it is currently doing to fulfill this responsibility,” he remarked.

The so-called war against terrorism began after the September 11 attacks in the United States and, under the pretext of eliminating radical groups, human rights violations were committed against the populations involved and dozens of international agreements were disregarded, say the experts.

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