'Louise Arbour calls rate of civilian casualties in Afghanistan 'alarming'', Macleans, 20 November 2007
EXCERPT: "The UN's top human rights officer says civilian casualties in Afghanistan have reached 'alarming levels.' Louise Arbour blames both the insurgents and NATO-led forces for the high rate of civilian deaths. But Arbour says international forces need to pay particular attention to the problem. The former Canadian Supreme Court justice says such killings not only violate international law but they also erode public support in Afghanistan for both NATO and the western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai. Arbour is wrapping up a six-day trip to Afghanistan. [...] Karzai has repeatedly pleaded with international forces to do all they can to prevent civilian casualties. An Associated Press count of such casualties this year found that militants had caused 346 deaths while international troops had caused 337 deaths through the end of October." The Afghan government and human rights groups put the number much higher.
To continue reading this article, click here.
To read Louise Arbour's full statement, click here.
Related posts:
'Karzai: Stop the Air Strikes', 30 October 2007
''At Least 155 Civilians Killed by Fighting, Terrorism in September: AIHRC', 12 October 2007
'Afghan Human Rights Watchdog to Track Civilian Casualties', 5 September 2007
'Over 1,000 Afghan Civilians Killed Since April: Interior Ministry', 16 August 2007
