KABUL, July 22: More than 600 Afghan civilians have been killed or wounded in unrest in Afghanistan this year, the country’s main human rights watchdog said on Saturday.
About 70 per cent of the casualties were caused by Taliban-linked attacks such as suicide and roadside bombings, said Nader Nadery of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC).
Most of the remainder were as a result of anti-Taliban operations by US-led forces and Afghan troops, mainly in the volatile south and east where the hardliners are most active.
Mr Nadery said the figures were based on information collected by AIHRC regional offices.
The rights body said it was concerned about the number of civilians being caught up in the violence, calling on the warring parties to take more care.
In May, 37 civilians were killed when US-led troops bombed a Taliban-dominated village in southern Kandahar province, the AIHRC has said.
A government-appointed committee said on Friday a US air strike in southern Uruzgan province the previous week killed 10 civilians.
Scores of Afghan police and soldiers have also been killed but the security forces will not say how many for policy reasons.
And nearly 60 foreign soldiers with the US-led forces or a separate NATO-led deployment have also lost their lives in hostile action in Afghanistan this year, according to a count compiled from the forces’ reports.—AFP
KABUL, July 22: More than 600 Afghan civilians have been killed or wounded in unrest in Afghanistan this year, the country’s main human rights watchdog said on Saturday.
