At least five civilians have been killed by US-led foreign troops in southern Afghanistan, amid growing discontent over the rising number of civilian fatalities in the war-wracked country.
The civilians lost their lives on Tuesday in the province of Helmand’s Sangin district, which is a flashpoint for foreign forces in their nine-year war against Taliban militants.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a statement on Tuesday confirmed the deaths, saying it is investigating the incident.
Last Wednesday, NATO said that four Afghan soldiers were killed in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan when their convoy came under attack by US-led warplanes.
US-led airstrikes also claimed the lives of at least thirty-two people in the war-ravaged country last week.
In the face of growing Afghan civilian casualties, the Afghan government has recently renewed calls for prevention of civilian deaths in US-led military operations.
Civilian casualties have been a frequent source of tensions between Kabul and the foreign forces. The United Nations says the death toll of Afghan civilians this year is 20 percent higher than in 2009, with over 2,400 civilians killed in the country from January to September.
“Civilians continued to bear the brunt of intensified armed conflict as civilian casualties, including deaths and injuries, increased by 20 percent in the first 10 months of 2010,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the newly released report comparing the figures with the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the 2010 death toll for US-led troops in war-ravaged Afghanistan has passed the 700 mark.
This year has been the deadliest for foreign troops during nine years of war in Afghanistan as foreign troops died at a rate of almost two soldiers a day.
NATO has warned that foreign soldiers will face more violence in 2011.
As casualties of Afghan civilians and foreign troops have risen in Afghanistan this year, public opinion in the United States and other countries has begun turning against the war.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in a statement on Tuesday confirmed the deaths, saying it is investigating the incident.
Last Wednesday, NATO said that four Afghan soldiers were killed in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan when their convoy came under attack by US-led warplanes.
US-led airstrikes also claimed the lives of at least thirty-two people in the war-ravaged country last week.
In the face of growing Afghan civilian casualties, the Afghan government has recently renewed calls for prevention of civilian deaths in US-led military operations.
Civilian casualties have been a frequent source of tensions between Kabul and the foreign forces. The United Nations says the death toll of Afghan civilians this year is 20 percent higher than in 2009, with over 2,400 civilians killed in the country from January to September.
“Civilians continued to bear the brunt of intensified armed conflict as civilian casualties, including deaths and injuries, increased by 20 percent in the first 10 months of 2010,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the newly released report comparing the figures with the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the 2010 death toll for US-led troops in war-ravaged Afghanistan has passed the 700 mark.
This year has been the deadliest for foreign troops during nine years of war in Afghanistan as foreign troops died at a rate of almost two soldiers a day.
NATO has warned that foreign soldiers will face more violence in 2011.
As casualties of Afghan civilians and foreign troops have risen in Afghanistan this year, public opinion in the United States and other countries has begun turning against the war.
Source: Press TV
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