Afghanistan Conflict Monitor

Dip in Civilian Deaths in First Two Months of 2010

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."

Read the full story.

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

NATO: Deaths of Eight Boys Were a Mistake

NATO Admits That Deaths of Eight Boys Were a Mistake, Times Online, 25 February 2010

EXCERPT: "A night-time raid in eastern Afghanistan in which eight schoolboys from one family were killed was carried out on the basis of faulty intelligence and should never have been authorised, a Times investigation has found. Ten children and teenagers died when troops stormed a remote mountain compound near the border with Pakistan in December. At the time, Nato claimed that the assault force was targeting a 'known insurgent group responsible for a series of violent attacks'. Officials said that the victims were involved in making and smuggling improvised explosive devices. But Western sources close to the case now agree that the victims were all aged 12 to 18 and were not involved in insurgent activity. Nato sources say that the raid should never have been authorised. 'Knowing what we know now, it would probably not have been a justifiable attack,' an official in Kabul told The Times. 'We don’t now believe that we busted a major ring.'"

Read the full story.

Related articles:
NATO limits night raids in Afghanistan, AHN News, 25 February 2010
Afghans call for Nato to leave after airstrike kills 27 civilians, Times Online, 23 February 2010
Gates: NATO, in crisis, must change its ways, The Washington Post, 23 February 2010

Related posts:
NATO rockets kill 12 Afghan civilians , 15 February 2010
Over 2,400 civilian deaths in 2009: UNAMA, 13 January 2010
Western troops concede more civilian deaths, 16 August 2009
Civilians and the international security strategy, 3 April 2009

UN Urges Steps to Prevent Child Deaths in Conflict

UN Urges Steps to Prevent Child Deaths in Conflict, UN News Centre, 24 February 2010

EXCERPT: "A senior United Nations human rights official today called on international troops fighting militants in Afghanistan to follow directives designed to guard against civilian deaths, drawing particular attention to the plight of children caught up in the conflict. Last year, some 346 children were killed by warring factions in Afghanistan, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Radhika Coomaraswamy told reporters in Kabul. 'One hundred and thirty-one of these were by aerial strikes, 22 by search-and-raid by Special Forces; 128 were killed by anti-Government elements, including assassinations and suicide bombings,' said Ms. Coomaraswamy. 'The rest were undetermined perpetrators,' she said in a statement, recognizing the efforts of General Stanley McChrystal, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), to ensure that the protection of civilians is a part of the military strategy."

Read the full story.

Related article:
Children to be at center of any peace framework for Afghanistan, ReliefWeb, 24 February 2010

Related resource:
PRESS CONFERENCE (near verbatim transcript) - SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy; DSRSG, Robert Watkins; and UNICEF Representative to Afghanistan, Catherine Mbengue, ReliefWeb, 24 February 2010

Related posts:
2009 worst year for Afghan children: ARM, 6 January 2010
Taliban increasingly use children as bombers, shields, 26 October 2009
Insecurity harming child health, education: UNICEF, 20 May 2009
Top UN official highlights plight of children, 3 July 2008

"Unjustifiable" NATO Air Strike Kills 27 Civilians

Afghanistan Condemns Deadly Nato Air Strike in Uruzgan, BBC News, 22 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's government has condemned a Nato air strike on a convoy of vehicles in the south of the country, which killed at least 27 civilians. Nato said it had hit a suspected insurgent convoy, but troops then found 'a number of individuals killed and wounded', including women and children. Sunday's attack, in Uruzgan province, was not part of a major Nato-led push in neighbouring Helmand province. Civilian deaths in strikes have caused widespread resentment in Afghanistan. After initial reports put the death-toll at 33, a revised statement lowered the figure to 27, including four women and one child. [...] The Afghan government condemned Sunday's air strike, calling it 'unjustifiable' and 'a major obstacle' to effective counter-terrorism efforts. The cabinet also called on Nato 'to closely co-ordinate and exercise maximum care before conducting any military operation so that any possible mistakes that may result in harming civilians... can be avoided'."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
McChrystal apologizes as airstrike kills dozens in Afghanistan, CNN, 22 February 2010
Deadly blast hits Afghanistan, Al Jazeera, 22 February 2010
Afghan leader urges coalition troops to curb civilian deaths, Los Angeles Times, 21 February 2010
Drone pilots have a front-row seat on war, from half a world away, Los Angeles Times, 21 February 2010

Related posts:
Concern over civilians slows NATO advance, 19 February 2010
US curtails use of airstrikes in Marja assault, 16 February 2010
NATO rockets kill 12 Afghan civilians, 15 February 2010
Kunduz airstrike inquiry begins in Berlin, 22 January 2010
Over 2,400 civilian deaths in 2009: UNAMA, 13 January 2010

Concern over Civilians Slows NATO Advance

Concern over Civilians Slows NATO Advance, Reuters, 19 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Whenever Afghanistan's Taliban turn up the heat in the battle with U.S. Marines, the troops have to think twice before retaliating or calling in air strikes in order to avoid civilian casualties. That caution is guiding a NATO and Afghan military offensive designed to break the Taliban's grip on their last big stronghold, in Helmand province, without alienating the local population. But while the strategy may raise chances of local government officials winning the trust of Afghans as they try to stamp their authority, it may also delay the end of the assault in Marjah district and put NATO forces in danger. NATO forces are taking preventive measures, including sending A-10 jets to kill Taliban militants planting explosives. A-10s are designed for close air support for ground forces, meaning they can hit targets without firing large ordnance. The Taliban, meanwhile, are digging in for a fight to death, the Pentagon has said, increasing the chances of heavier fighting that could endanger civilians."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
US compensates Afghans for death, damage from war, The Washington Post, 19 February 2010
NATO "ill equipped to prevent Afghan civilian deaths", Daily Times, 19 February 2010
NATO may need 30 more days to secure Taliban stronghold, VOA News, 19 February 2010
Nato takes heavy casualties in Marjah, Financial Times, 19 February 2010

Related posts:
US curtails use of airstrikes in Marja assault, 16 February 2010
Afghanistan braces for urban warfare, 12 February 2010
Casualties "increasing" ahead of major assault: Red Cross, 10 February 2010
Helmand refugees fleeing ahead of offensive, 8 February 2010
Civilians and the international security strategy, 3 April 2009

Afghanistan Taliban "Using Human Shields": General

Afghanistan Taliban "Using Human Shields": General, BBC News, 17 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Taliban militants are increasingly using civilians as 'human shields' as they battle against a joint Afghan-Nato offensive, an Afghan general has said. Gen Mohiudin Ghori said his soldiers had seen Taliban fighters placing women and children on the roofs of buildings and firing from behind them. The joint offensive in southern Helmand province has entered its fifth day. US Marines fighting to take the Taliban haven of Marjah have had to call in air support as they come under heavy fire. They have faced sustained machine-gun fire from fighters hiding in bunkers and in buildings including homes and mosques. Gen Ghori, the senior commander for Afghan troops in the area, accused the Taliban of taking civilians hostage in Marjah and putting them in the line of fire. Nato has stressed that the safety of civilians in the areas targeted in the joint Nato and Afghan Operation Moshtarak is its highest priority."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Civilian deaths mounting in Marjah offensive, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 February 2010
Civilian deaths undermine progress against Taleban, New Zealand Herald, 16 February 2010
Troops struggle to fight by strict rules in Afghanistan, The Dallas Morning News, 16 February 2010

Related posts:
Casualties "increasing" ahead of major assault: Red Cross, 10 February 2010
Taliban increasingly use children as bombers, shields, 26 October 2009
Terrorism kills more civilians than military action, 13 July 2009
UN: Afghan civilian deaths jumped 40 percent, 17 February 2009

US Curtails Use of Airstrikes in Marja Assault

U.S. Curtails Use of Airstrikes in Assault on Marja, The Washington Post, 16 February 2010

EXCERPT: "To the Marines of Bravo Company, the black-and-white video footage from a surveillance drone seemed to present the perfect shot: more than a dozed armed insurgents exiting a building and heading to positions to attack U.S. and Afghan forces seeking to wrest control of this Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Facing stiff resistance from Taliban fighters, the Marines radioed for permission to call in an airstrike on the insurgents at midday Monday. It appeared to be the sort of clear opportunity that would have prompted a rapidly executed bombing run during the Iraq war, or even in the first seven years of this conflict. But not anymore. Officers at the Marine headquarters deemed the insurgents to be too close to a set of houses. In the new way the United States and its NATO allies are waging the Afghan war, dropping a bomb on or near a house is forbidden unless troops are in imminent danger of being overrun, or they can prove no civilians are inside."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Afghanistan missile that killed civilians "hit target", BBC News, 16 February 2010
Missile that killed Afghan civilians not faulty: NATO, Reuters, 16 February 2010
Winning hearts and minds, The Baltimore Sun, 16 February 2010
Afghanistan: NATO's new era of counter-insurgency, Channel 4 News, 15 February 2010

Related posts:
NATO rockets kill 12 Afghan civilians , 15 February 2010
CIA deaths prompt drone strike surge, 25 January 2010
Under McChrystal, drone strikes quietly rise, 14 January 2010
NATO airstrike "kills three Afghan civilians", 18 December 2009
US drone strikes may break international law: UN, 28 October 2009

NATO Rockets Kill 12 Afghan Civilians

NATO Rockets Kill 12 Afghan Civilians, The Guardian, 14 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Two Nato rockets aimed at Taliban insurgents in Helmand missed their target today, killing 12 civilians sheltering in their home and dealing a sharp blow to hopes that civilian casualties would be avoided in the largest western-led operation of the nine-year Afghan war. The incident occurred in Nad Ali, an insurgent-infested area where British troops are operating. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said the rockets, which were fired by a sophisticated missile system, were a 'US responsibility'. News of the deaths overshadowed cautiously optimistic reports from US commanders in nearby Marjah, a major hub of insurgents and drug smugglers, where marines and Afghan soldiers pushed deep into a labyrinth of mud-walled compounds surrounded by landmines and booby traps. The soldiers went carefully, preceded by explosives teams and sniffer dogs. Taliban snipers holed up in farmhouses offered sporadic, and sometimes sustained, resistance. One group came under fire moments after they hoisted an Afghan flag over a newly captured compound."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
The mistaken killing of 12 Afghan civilians prompts US apology, Miami Herald, 14 February 2010
Civilian deaths overshadow Afghan offensive, The Telegraph, 14 February 2010

Related posts:
Casualties "increasing" ahead of major assault: Red Cross, 10 February 2010
Western troops concede more civilian deaths, 16 August 2009
New tactic for US, NATO in Afghanistan: Say sorry, 17 April 2009
Civilians and the international security strategy, 3 April 2009

Afghanistan Braces for Urban Warfare

Afghanistan-Somalia: Two Towns Braced for Urban Warfare, IRIN News, 12 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Continents apart, the civilian populations of Marjah, a key town in Helmand province, Afghanistan, and Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, are steeling themselves for intense urban warfare. Major offensives are being planned in both, pitting NATO and Afghan national forces against the Taliban in Marjah, and according to media reports, Somali transitional government troops against Islamist insurgent militia, including Al-Shabab, in Mogadishu. Civilians in cities at war risk death and injury from accidental or deliberate attack, sexual or other violence, being trapped or used as shields, loss of property and forced displacement. Urban conflict is often more dangerous for civilians than rural, according to a paper commissioned by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The coming battles for Marjah and Mogadishu will test all sides’ ability to conform with humanitarian law and protect civilians. In Afghanistan, NATO has given strong assurances that it will spare no effort to minimize the impact of military activities on civilian communities."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
NATO says night raid killed insurgents in Afghanistan; family says 5 innocents died, The Canadian Press, 12 February 2010
Allied forces poised for biggest push of Afghanistan war, The Guardian, 12 February 2010
New battles test US strategy in Afghanistan, The Wall Street Journal, 11 February 2010
Karzai demands halt to Afghan civilian casualties, Reuters, 7 February 2010

Related articles:
Casualties "increasing" ahead of major assault: Red Cross, 10 February 2010
Could foreign troop surge exacerbate vulnerability?, 19 January 2010
Western troops concede more civilian deaths, 16 August 2009
Terrorism kills more civilians than military action, 13 July 2009

Casualties "Increasing" Ahead of Major Assault: Red Cross

War Casualties "Increasing" Ahead of Afghan Assault, AFP, 10 February 2010

EXCERPT: "The Red Cross warned on Wednesday that war casualties were increasing around a Taliban bastion where US Marines are gearing up to launch a massive assault. Thousands of Marines, NATO and Afghan soldiers are massing around the town of Marjah in Helmand province, where military officials have predicted an impending offensive will be one of the biggest of the eight-year US-led war. The flow of residents fleeing the imminent offensive has slowed, provincial officials said, after loaded-down cars, trucks, tractors and buses clogged roads to the provincial capital Lashkah Gar for days. 'We have announced and told people in Marjah not to leave their houses as our operation is well planned and designed to target the enemy,' said Daud Ahmadi, spokesman for Helmand Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal. 'Civilians will not be harmed,' he said... Staff working at the ICRC's first aid post in Marjah have been seeing increasing numbers of war casualties,' it said in an operational statement. Civilians and injured fighters find it 'more and more difficult' to obtain 'urgently needed medical care, owing to mounting security problems and numerous road blocks and checkpoints throughout Helmand province.'"

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Afghanistan says ready if thousands flee assault, Reuters, 10 February 2010
Marines test Taliban defenses before Afghan attack, The Associated Press via Yahoo! News, 10 February 2010
Troop hospitals stretched before big Afghan push, Reuters, 10 February 2010
As Afghan assault looms, many civilians haven't fled, McClatchy, 9 February 2010

Related posts:
Helmand refugees fleeing ahead of offensive, 8 February 2010
US and British to launch biggest offensive since 2001, 3 February 2010
NATO forces to launch Helmand offensive, 25 January 2010
Over 2,400 civilian deaths in 2009: UNAMA, 13 January 2010
Securing Helmand, 29 September 2009