Taliban reject UN report on civilian casualties

KABUL on Sunday rejected a United Nations report that the insurgents were responsible for 82 percent of civilian deaths last month, with homemade bombs the leading cause.

In a new report on Saturday, the world‘s body said May was the deadliest month for Afghan civilians since the United Nations started tracking deaths in 2007.

But a statement from the Taliban rejected the report as far from reality and biased.

The statement said the report was one-sided and a repetition of UN’s biased policies.

“The UN continues to be partial not only in its reports about civilian casualties, but also in other areas including military, politics, cultural, economic and ethnic,” it said.

It claimed dozens of civilians were killed in operations by foreign troops in Doab district of Nuristan province.

The statement also accused foreign troops of killing and detaining civilians’ across the country.

“We are very concerned that civilian suffering will increase even more over the summer fighting season, which historically brings the highest numbers of civilian casualties. Parties to the conflict must increase their efforts to protect civilians now,” said Georgette Gagnon, director of human rights for the UN mission in Afghanistan, on Saturday.

The UN said insurgents were responsible for 82 percent of the 368 civilians killed last month.

The international alliance and Afghan security forces were to blame for 12 percent of the deaths while it was not clear who was responsible for the remainder, according to the report. It also said 593 civilians were wounded last month.

NATO airstrikes, a frequent cause of tension between the Afghan government and the alliance, were behind 3 percent of civilian deaths, the report found.

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