UN: Afghan civilian death toll down 12 percent

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? The U.N. mission in Afghanistan says airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition killed 126 civilians last year, a nearly 50 percent drop from the year before.

Tuesday's report comes a day after President Hamid Karzai banned Afghan forces from asking for air support amid anger over the killing of five children, four women and a man in a strike last week.

The report says the overall civilian death toll in 2012 dropped 12 percent to 2,754. But it expressed concern about a spike in targeted killings and human rights abuses, a worrisome trend as the U.S. and allies prepare to withdraw combat troops by the end of 2014.

The report also says the Taliban and other insurgents increasingly targeted civilians and were responsible for 81 percent of civilian casualties last year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/un-afghan-civilian-death-toll-down-12-percent-060659769.html

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