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.

"Even the obscene casualty figures fail to accurately reflect exactly how terribly civilians are suffering in Iraq," UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The figures capture those who were killed or maimed by overt violence, but countless others have died from the lack of access to basic food, water or medical care."

The UN's figures are based on casualties reported between January 2014 and October 2015.

The UN reported that more than 3.2 million people were internally displaced (IDPs) because of violence in the period between January 2014 and October 2015.

"The persistent violence and scale of the displacement continue to impact IDPs’ access to basic services, such as housing, clean water and education," the UN said.

Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Baghdad, said that more than one million of the internally displaced people were children.

"Sectarian tensions continue to rise and this makes it all the more difficult for displaced people in Iraq," our correspondent said, adding that the UN was pushing for the international community to do more to help the Iraqi government to assist the growing number of homeless families.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi security forces search vehicles at a Baghdad checkpoint

Al-Jazeera