UN: Afghan civilian deaths rose 40 percent in 2008 - NATO and Afghan forces killed 828

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KABUL (AP) — The number of Afghan civilians killed in armed conflict rose 40 percent last year to a record 2,118 people as the Afghan war turned increasingly bloody, the U.N. said in a new report Tuesday.

The report said insurgents were responsible for 55 percent of the deaths, but that U.S., NATO and Afghan forces killed 829 civilians, or 39 percent. Of those, 552 deaths were blamed on airstrikes.

Civilian deaths have been a huge source of friction between the U.S. and President Hamid Karzai, who has increased demands that U.S. troops avoid killing civilians.

Close to 3,000 American forces who recently arrived in Afghanistan to secure two violent provinces near Kabul have begun operations, and their commander admitted that civilian casualties could increase because of their presence.

read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hHboQR1bQs5BDGqY_pDooE9eb2qQD96DBM280


Annual Report (2008): Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict
http://www.unama-afg.org/docs/_UN-Docs/_human%20rights/2009/UNAMA_09february-Annual%20Report_PoC%202008_FINAL_11Feb09.pdf

Escalation of armed conflict impacts civilians – Human Rights report
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/10session/A.HRC.10.23.pdf

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