Afghan civilian deaths rose 40 pc in 2008: UN

The number of Afghan civilians killed in armed conflict rose 40 percent last year to a record 2,118 people, the U.N. said in a new report Tuesday.

The report said militants were responsible for 55 percent of the deaths, but that U.S., NATO and Afghan forces killed 829 civilians, or 39 percent. Civilian deaths have been a huge source of friction between the U.S. and President Hamid Karzai, who has increased demands that U.S. and NATO troops avoid killing civilians during operations.

The U.S. and Afghan militaries this month announced plans to increase the number of Afghans who will take part in U.S. operations, a step aimed at reducing deaths of ordinary Afghans.

The U.N.'s annual report on the protection of civilians noted that despite new battlefield rules meant to reduce civilian casualties, U.S., NATO and Afghan troops killed 31 percent more civilians in 2008 than in 2007, when the U.N. said those forces killed 629 civilians.

"As the conflict has intensified, it is taking an increasingly heavy toll on civilians," the U.N. said.

Militants increasingly rely on roadside bombs, car bombs and suicide bombers, attacks that are "frequently undertaken regardless of the impact on civilians," the report said.