Kabul: A UN report says last year was the deadliest on record for Afghan civilians, with 3,021 killed in the war.
That was an 8 percent increase in civilian deaths from 2010. It was also the fifth year in a row that the civilian toll has became steadily worse.
The report issued on Saturday says insurgents killed more than three-quarters of the civilians who died, with a steep rise in people killed in suicide bombings. It says roadside bombs were the single biggest killer of civilians, accounting for nearly one in three deaths.
NATO and Afghan security forces were responsible for 410 civilian deaths — about 14 percent of the total.
The report comes as NATO begins to work out a schedule to hand over security to Afghan government forces.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, February 04, 2012, 12:39