Islam Times - Afghan civilian casualties up by 24 percent: UN report

Islam Times - The United Nations says Afghanistan has witnessed a 24-percent rise in civilian casualties during the first six months of 2013.

On Tuesday, United Nations Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Jan Kubis, voiced concern over the rise in civilian casualties in war-torn Afghanistan from January 1 to June 6, this year.

The representative said that during this time period, the UN has recorded 3,092 civilian casualties, stressing that the new figure shows a 24 percent increase in the number of civilians killed and injured during the same period last year.

According to Kubis, children accounted for 21 percent of all civilians killed or wounded in 2013.

He also said that civilian casualties caused by controversial night raids carried out by US-led forces in the country have increased by 12 percent compared to 2012.

Taliban attacks and clashes between the militants and foreign forces have claimed the lives of thousands civilians over the past years.

Many civilians have also lost their lives in US-led operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past decade, with Afghans becoming increasingly outraged at the seemingly endless number of the deadly assaults.

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of combating terrorism. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across the country despite the presence of thousands of US-led soldiers.

The US-led war in Afghanistan has become the longest military conflict in the American history.