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Afghan civilian deaths increase | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The number of civilians killed in the conflict in Afghanistan so far this year has risen 24% compared with the same period last year, the UN says. | |
More than 1,000 people were killed in the first six months of 2009, according to a UN report. | |
The UN 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. | There has been widespread concern in Afghanistan about civilian death tolls. |
In June the US military called for better training in an effort to reduce the numbers of civilian deaths. | |
name="back"> class="bodl" href="#map">See civilian casualties in graphics | |
Gen Stanley McChrystal, the new commander of US and Nato-led troops in Afghanistan, has said troops must make protecting Afghan civilians a priority. | |
And the Taliban also issued a new code of conduct earlier this week which says fighters should minimise civilian casualties. | |
But the UN warned more civilians may be killed in the coming weeks as militants fight back against a major offensive by US forces ahead of key elections next month. | |
Civilian targets | Civilian targets |
The report, by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), says insurgents were responsible for more deaths than government-allied forces. | |
But it also notes that two-thirds of the deaths caused by government-allied forces came in air strikes. | |
The rising death toll was partly due to the fact that militants were deliberately basing themselves in residential districts, the report's authors concluded. | |
The increasingly sophisticated tactics used by insurgents were also highlighted. | |
There has been a particular rise in co-ordinated attacks, the report says - using suicide bombers and explosives to target government offices. | |
In those attacks, civilians were always singled out and killed. | 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 | Presidential elections |
The report also noted that militants increasingly bombed the cars of civilians who work with government or international troops. | The report also noted that militants increasingly bombed the cars of civilians who work with government or international troops. |
Shops selling music and goods deemed to be "immoral" have also been increasingly targeted. | |
Civilian deaths rose every month this year compared with 2008, except for February. May was cited as the deadliest month, with 261 civilians killed. | |
The BBC's David Loyn, in Kabul, says that even the large increase recorded by the UN is likely to be an underestimate, as many deaths are not counted. | |
The importance of the report lies in the upward trend, our correspondent says. | |
This is the third year the UN has counted civilian deaths and the numbers have risen each year. | |
Elections are due to take place amid tight security on 20 August, when President Hamid Karzai is hoping to secure a second term. | |
However, 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. | 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. | Two days earlier there was an assassination attempt on Mohammed Qasim Fahim, a running mate of Mr Karzai. |
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