LEAD: UN: Afghan civilian death toll rises for fifth year

Feb 4, 2012, 11:41 GMT

Kabul - The United Nations said Saturday that more than 3,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year, the fifth consecutive annual rise.

The UN report said 3,021 civilians, an increase of 8 per cent on 2010, were killed during the war in 2011.

'Afghan children, women and men continue to be killed in this war in ever-increasing numbers. For much too long, Afghan civilians have paid the highest price of war,' Jan Kubis, UN especial envoy to Afghanistan said.

The report blamed Taliban insurgents for about three quarters of the civilian death toll, making them responsible for 2,332 deaths.

NATO and Afghan forces were blamed for the deaths of 410 civilians, which UN officials said showed a decrease of four per cent from the previous year.

But 187 of those deaths were attributed to aerial attacks by NATO-led forces, an increase of nine per cent compared to the previous year.

'2011 marked the fifth year in a row in which we documented an increase in civilian deaths and injuries, 11,864 civilians in total have died in this conflict in the last five year,' Georgette Gagnon, UN human rights director told a news conference in Kabul.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or roadside bombs, which are often use by Taliban insurgents to target Afghan and NATO troops, were the single largest killer of Afghan civilians in 2011, the report notes.

Roadside bombings claimed the lives of 967 people, or nearly one in three of all civilians killed during the conflict last year, according to the report.

The civilian death toll from suicide attacks rose dramatically in 2011 to 450, the report said.

'While we saw some improved messaging from the Taliban on reduction in civilian causalities and protection we didn't see improvements on the ground,' Gagnon said.

The Taliban leadership has recently issued several statements urging their fighters to spare civilians in their attacks on NATO-led forces.

More than 130,000 foreign troops led by NATO are struggling against an insurgency which has lasted since the Taliban were ousted.

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