The number of Iraqi civilian deaths reached a new high of 3,709 in October, says a U.N. report released on Wednesday.

Iraqis react following a military raid in the Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq , Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2006. Coalition forces raided Baghdad's Sadr City Shiite stronghold on Tuesday, killing three people, including a young boy, police said.

The latest bimonthly human rights report issued by the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said last month's death toll exceeded the previous high of 3,590 in July.

The number of attacks by armed militias is growing, and torture continues to be rampant throughout the strife-torn country, says the report for September and October.

The report paints a bleak picture virtually across the board, from attacks on journalists, judges and lawyers and the deteriorating security situation for women and children, to displacement and raging violence against religious minorities.

It states that 7,054 Iraqi civilians, including 351 women and 110 children, were killed in September and October, based on figures from the Iraqi Health Ministry, hospitals across the country and other sources. Around 70 percent of the deaths occurred in Baghdad.

"The civilian population of Iraq continues to be the victim of terrorist acts, roadside bombs, drive-by shootings, cross fire between rival gangs, or between police and insurgents, kidnappings,military operations, crime and police abuse," the report said.

"Hundreds of bodies continued to appear in different areas of Baghdad handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture and execution-style killings... Many witnesses reported that perpetrators wore militia attire and even police or army uniforms," it added, noting that sectarian attacks are now the main source of violence in Iraq.

Iraq's worsening security condition and increasing poverty have caused an "unparalleled" population movement, UNAMI said, estimating that 100,000 Iraqis leave the country each month and that more than 2 million, about 8 percent of the population, have fled their homes since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

UNAMI called on the Iraqi government, U.S. occupation forces and the international community to step up efforts to reassert theIraqi government's authority and help Iraq dismantle armed militias, fight corruption and organized crime and maintain discipline within the security and armed forces.

Editor: Donald