2010-08-11 10:32

Two suicide bombers Tuesday attacked a building rented by a private security company in the Afghan capital, killing two company drivers. Four other civilians were killed by Taliban bombs Tuesday - one in Ghazni and the other in Kandahar - according to police.

The UN attributed the 30 percent drop in civilian casualties caused by NATO or Afghan government forces to a sharp decline in deaths and injuries from airstrikes. Last year former top commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal limited the use of airstrikes and heavy weapons to quell a rising tide of anger among Afghans over civilian deaths at the hands of international forces.

McChrystal's successor, Gen. David Petraeus, has maintained those curbs, telling his troops this month that "every Afghan death diminishes our cause." Nevertheless, airstrikes accounted for 69 of the 223 civilian deaths attributed to NATO or government forces, the report said.

"The devastating human impact of these events underscores that nine years into the conflict, measures to protect Afghan civilians effectively and to minimize the effect of the conflict on basic human rights are more urgent than ever before," said Georgette Gagnon, director of human rights for the UN mission here.

Violence is taking an increasing toll on Afghan women and children, according to the U.N. Insurgent roadside bombs alone killed at least 74 children in the first half of the year _ a 155 percent increase in bombing-related deaths among children compared to the same period last year, the UN said.

Deaths among women as a result of insurgent attacks rose 6 percent during the reporting period, the UN said. UN officials attributed the increase in large part to Taliban bombings in open-air markets where women gather with their children to shop.

"Afghan children and women are increasingly bearing the brunt of this conflict," de Mistura said. "They are being killed and injured in their homes and communities in greater numbers than ever before."

In response to the UN report, Amnesty International said the Taliban and other insurgents should be prosecuted for war crimes. It urged the Afghan government to ask the International Criminal Court to open investigations of insurgent leaders.

"The Taliban and other insurgents are becoming far bolder in their systematic killing of civilians. Targeting of civilians is a war crime, plain and simple" said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's director for Asia. "The Afghan people are crying out for justice, and have a right to accountability and compensation."

Rachel Reid, Afghanistan researcher for Human Rights Watch, said the UN report shows "the Taliban are resorting to desperate measures," including assassinations of teachers, doctors, civil servants and tribal elders.

"Targeting civilians violates the laws of war," she said.

Taliban tactics could also complicate efforts by President Hamid Karzai to begin negotiations with the insurgents on a political settlement to end the nearly 9-year war. US and NATO officials have said the increasingly unpopular war can be resolved only through a political solution.

"One day, when unavoidably there will be a discussion about the future of the country, will you want to come to that table with thousands of Afghans, civilians, killed along the road?" de Mistura asked.

He said if the Taliban want to play a role in a future Afghanistan, "they cannot do so over the bodies of so many civilians."