Dip in Civilian Deaths in First Two Months of 2010, ReliefWeb, 1 March 2010
EXCERPT: "The number of civilian deaths caused by the conflict in Afghanistan in the first two months of 2010 was slightly lower than in the same period in 2009, according to two Afghan human rights groups. Some 163 civilians died and 187 were wounded in violent incidents in different parts of the country in January and February 2010, compared to 201 deaths in the same period of 2009, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said. 'Ninety-two civilian deaths have been attributed to the armed opposition and 71 to pro-government Afghan and foreign forces,' Fareed Hamidi, a commissioner of the AIHRC, told IRIN. The Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM), a non-government rights body, had slightly different figures: 201 civilian deaths in the first two months of 2010 as against 297 in 2009. The figures may come as a surprise given the major anti-Taliban military operation which began on 13 February in the southern province of Helmand."
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Related articles:
Nato draws up payout tariffs for Afghan civilian deaths, The Guardian, 28 February 2010
Afghan body counts 28 civilian deaths in Marjah, The Associated Press, 25 February 2010
Afghan leader urges coalition troops to curb civilian deaths, Los Angeles Times, 21 February 2010
Related resources:
Press Release: Attacks on civilians and civilian objects are against human rights and Islamic principles Kabul [pdf], Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), 27 February 2010
Video: In Afghanistan, civilian casualties draw sharp criticism, PBS NewsHour, 22 February 2010
Related posts:
NATO: Deaths of eight boys were a mistake, 25 February 2010
Concern over civilians slows NATO advance, 19 February 2010
Over 2,400 civilian deaths in 2009: UNAMA, 13 January 2010
Terrorism kills more civilians than military action, 13 July 2009
UN: Afghan civilian deaths jumped 40 percent, 17 February 2009

