Human Rights Group Demands End to Afghan Civilian Casualties
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Amnesty International issued an appeal Tuesday for all sides in the ongoing war in Afghanistan to avoid killing civilians.
The human rights group said in a statement, “All parties to the conflict must make a distinction between civilians and combatants. The laws of war prohibit indiscriminate attacks, and deliberately targeting civilians for attack is a war crime.”
With the advent of spring, the Taliban has stepped up its attacks on the civilian population. Earlier this week, nine people were killed when their bus ran over a roadside bomb in eastern Wardak province. Many of the dead and injured were women and children.
Meanwhile, NATO has been blamed for 12 civilian deaths, including 10 children, after its war planes fired on a Taliban target last Saturday in Kunar province. The coalition said the matter is still under investigation.
As many as 2,750 civilian died in war-related violence last year in Afghanistan, with the Taliban responsible for 79 percent of the deaths, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Coalition and Afghan forces accounted for about 8 percent of civilian fatalities, with the sources of other deaths unclear.
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