'UN: 2,100 Civilians Killed In 2008', Reuters, 3 February 2009
EXCERPT: "More than 2,100 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2008, a 40 percent rise from the previous year, the United Nations said Tuesday. It also cited partial figures saying that the Taliban and local warlords were responsible for 1,000 out of 1,800 civilian deaths up to the end of October, mainly due to suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices. Nearly 700 people were killed by international and Afghan forces in the same period -- including 455 who died in air strikes -- while the cause of the remaining 100 had yet to be determined, it said. The civilian toll was established by U.N. human rights officers deployed in Afghanistan whose full report was still being finalized, according to a U.N. spokesman. 'According to U.N. figures, over 2,100 civilians were killed as a result of armed conflict in 2008, which represents an increase of about 40 percent from 2007,' U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said. The U.N. said 1,523 people were killed in 2007. Holmes was speaking to representatives of aid donor countries in Geneva while launching an appeal for $604 million for Afghanistan for 2009. Violence in Afghanistan has rebounded to the highest levels since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban."
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See also:
'UN launches $604 million appeal to aid Afghans in need', UN News Centre, 3 February 2009
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