Afghan Civilian Toll Rises

Posted on Jul 31, 2009

guim.co.uk

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan have risen sharply in the first half of this year.

As President Obama continues to push more U.S. troops into Afghanistan, the U.N. is reporting that civilian casualties in the war-torn country have spiked, increasing almost 25 percent above 2008 figures. In the first six months of this year, 1,013 civilians were killed.

CNN:

Civilian casualties resulting from Afghanistan’s war have spiked, jumping some 24 percent above figures from last year, the United Nations reported Friday.

The Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan announced it recorded 1,013 civilian deaths in Afghanistan during the first six months of this year. That compares to 818 Afghan civilians who were killed during the same period in 2008, while 684 civilians were killed during the first half of 2007.

Insurgent roadside bombs and suicide attacks, as well as air strikes conducted by U.S. and NATO forces, are the two deadliest tactics being used in Afghanistan.

Fifty-nine percent of this year’s civilian casualties resulted from insurgent bombs. Western military airstrikes killed 30.5 percent of the civilians.

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