Taliban reject UN civilian casualties’ report

KABUL on Friday rejected a UN report that said the insurgents accounted for 80 percent of Afghan civilian deaths this year.

The annual mid-year report said that NATO troops were responsible for 14 percent of killings, with half of all casualties caused by bomb attacks.

Nearly 1,462 Afghan civilians were killed in violence related incidents across Afghanistan in the first half of 2011, showing a 15 percent surge in civilian casualties, the UN said on Thursday.

Putting the year on track to be the deadliest in a decade, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the disturbing rise in deaths came after the United States sent thousands of extra troops into Afghanistan.

But the Taliban called the report as partial, one-sided and far from reality.

Rebel spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, in an email said that the UN had filed the report in line with information provide by the US army and the Afghan government.

“The Taliban have always called for a thorough, fair and transparent investigation into civilian casualties. But the UN has never acted to be impartial in this regard,” Mujahid said. He said they condemned the report for being partial and biased.

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