Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling on the US and NATO to address the rising Afghan civilian death toll in a 43-page report released on 8 September, Troops in Contact: Airstrikes and Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan.
HRW reports that “civilian deaths in Afghanistan from US and NATO airstrikes nearly tripled…” from 929 in 2006 to 1,633 in 2007. In the first seven months of 2008, at least 540 Afghan civilian deaths related to the armed conflict were recorded.
The HRW report also condemns the Taliban’s use of “human shields” in violation of the laws of war.
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