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Civilian deaths triple in Afghanistan

Children play on top of an old cannon on the hills of western Kabul, Afghanistan June 2008. , more than 50 percent of the population of 24 million people is under the age of 18. UNICEF estimates that up to 30 percent of primary school age children are wo Manoocher Deghati/IRIN
Children play on top of an old cannon on the hills of western Kabul, Afghanistan June 2008
    NAIROBI

    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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    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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