Civilian deaths up 24pc in Afghanistan: UN

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GENEVA, July 31 (AP): The United Nations said Friday the number of civilians killed in conflict in Afghanistan has jumped 24 per cent so far this year, with bombings by insurgent and airstrikes by international forces the biggest single killers.
In a grim assessment of the first half of 2009, the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan said the Taliban and other anti-government militants have become more deadly by shifting from ambush attacks to suicide bombings, roadside explosives and targeted assassinations.
It warned that more civilians would likely be killed as insurgents try to battle a troop increase by the administration of President Barack Obama, and seek to destabilise the country before presidential and Provincial Council elections on August 20. The summer is also typically the worst for fighting in Afghanistan.
Insurgent attacks are "frequently undertaken regardless of the impact on civilians in terms of deaths and injuries, or destruction of civilian infrastructure," the 21-page report said, ascribing 595 civilian deaths to the Taliban and other "anti-government elements" over the first six months.
Many of those died in suicide attacks or roadside bombs near "civilian traffic, residential compounds and marketplaces."
The United States and Western powers have become more deadly, too, partly because insurgent groups are taking cover in residential areas or luring US-led forces into unintentionally killing civilians, the UN said.