Civilian deaths go unreported in Afghanistan

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Afghanistan: Legislator Assails Coalition On Civilian Casualties

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PRAGUE, July 13, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- An Afghan member of parliament is contesting claims by the U.S.-led coalition about battle casualties in his home province of Oruzgan. Lawmaker Haji Abdul Khaliq Mujahid says the killing of innocent civilians by coalition air strikes in southern Afghanistan is going unreported. U.S. military officials say they have killed dozens of suspected Taliban fighters in Oruzgan in the past week but have no information about civilian casualties there. An Afghan human rights official says at least 600 of the 1,100 violent deaths in southern Afghanistan this year have been civilians killed by terrorists or coalition attacks.

Although U.S. officials do not keep statistics on civilian deaths, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission does. Commission spokesman Nader Nadery tells RFE/RL that at least half of people killed in fighting so far this year are thought to have been civilians.

"There are no exact figures," Nadery says. "But the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, especially our offices in the provinces, have recorded some figures that show more than 600 civilians have lost their lives in recent months as the result of terrorist acts or counterterrorism operations."

full report: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/7/8B8D5321-6F14-4C3D-863D-E70D62D1FDC0.html

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. "we don't do body counts" rumsfeld.

actually, civilians don't count much to this administration.