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Rise in Iraqi cancer cases may be linked to wars, environment

The causes of the spike may be linked to Iraq's wars or environmental pollution, but the evidence is sketchy.
As oil fires burn in the distance, a man covers his face near the entrance to the besieged city of Basra on March 29, 2003, in Iraq.

Director of the Environmental Department in southern Iraq Walid Hamid said May 21 that “Ministry of Health statistics indicate that 2,000 cases of cancer are recorded annually due to oil flares that release toxic gases into the air as a result of extraction operations in the Basra fields,” and he criticized oil companies for their disregard of the approved environmental and health standards and controls.

There have been mounting calls to address this health crisis. In 2018, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Basra announced that “about 800 cases of cancer are recorded every month in the province.” The office confirmed the figure on Jan. 4 and stated that “the governorate leads Iraqi cities in cancer cases, with 600 to 700 cases recorded on a monthly basis in 2020.”

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