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Friday, July 31, 2009

Afghan civilian deaths 'increase'

Farah province rubble
The report says the battlefield has increasingly moved to residential areas

The number of civilians killed in the conflict in Afghanistan so far this year has risen by 24% compared with the same period last year, the UN says.

More than 1,000 people were killed in the first six months of the year, according to a UN report.

It blamed insurgents for using increasingly deadly modes of attack. It also said air strikes by government-allied forces were responsible.

There has been widespread concern in Afghanistan about civilian death tolls.

In June the US military acknowledged concerns about the civilian deaths.

Gen Stanley MacChrystal, the new commander of US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan said troops must make protecting Afghan civilians a priority.

But, the UN warned more civilians may be killed as militants battle a major offensive by US forces ahead of key elections next month.

Civilian targets

The report says insurgents were responsible for more deaths than government-allied forces.

Mother grieves over her child August 2008
There has been widespread concern about civilian death tolls

But it noted that two-thirds of the deaths caused by government-allied forces came in air strikes.

It said the rising death toll was partly due to the fact that militants were deliberately basing themselves in residential districts.

The report also highlighted the increasingly sophisticated tactics used by insurgents.

It said there had been a rise in co-ordinated attacks using suicide bombers and explosives to target government offices.

In those attacks, civilians were always singled out and killed.

In the most recent of these attacks, gunmen and suicide bombers targeted Gardez and Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan killing five people.

Presidential elections

The report also noted that militants increasingly bombed the cars of civilians who work with government or international troops.

Civilian deaths rose every month this year compared with 2008, except for February.

May was cited as the deadliest month for civilians with 261 killed.

Elections are due to take place amid tight security on 20 August when President Hamid Karzai is hoping to secure a second term.

In the past week alone there have been two attacks on Afghan election campaigns.

On Tuesday a campaign manager for presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah was wounded when his vehicle was attacked in Laghman province.

Two days earlier there was an assassination attempt on Mohammed Qasim Fahim, a running mate of Mr Karzai

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