‘Afghan civilian casualties up by 24%’

The United Nations says Afghanistan has witnessed a 24-percent rise in civilian casualties during the first six months of 2013.

According to Press TV, on Tuesday, United Nations Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Jan Kubis, voiced concern over the rise in civilian casualties in war-torn Afghanistan from January 1 to June 6, this year.
The representative said that during this time period, the UN has recorded 3,092 civilian casualties, stressing that the new figure shows a 24 percent increase in the number of civilians killed and injured during the same period last year.
According to Kubis, children accounted for 21 percent of all civilians killed or wounded in 2013.
He also said that civilian casualties caused by controversial night raids carried out by US-led forces in the country have increased by 12 percent compared to 2012.
Taliban attacks and clashes between the militants and foreign forces have claimed the lives of thousands civilians over the past years.