2010 worst year of Afghan war: report

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

* Rights group says it will take a miracle to win the war under Karzai
* 2010 the deadliest year since 2001, with 14 civilian causalities on average each day
* Insurgency has become more resilient and deadly
* NATO and Afghan forces are responsible for 30 percent of civilian deaths

KABUL: As the US troop-surge fails to quell the Taliban-led insurgency, this year has been the most violent since the Afghan war began in 2001 and civilian deaths have risen slightly with the increased insecurity, a local rights group said Monday.

The Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) said that the 30,000-strong troop lift was also clouding US foreign policy objectives, with regional powers such as Pakistan, India and Iran flexing their muscles in the country ahead of an expected US and NATO pullout, starting next year.

The group also said that it would take “a miracle” to win the war and restore viable peace in Afghanistan under the inept government of President Hamid Karzai.

The surge had also driven violence to its worst levels since the Taliban’s 2001 ousting, with 14 civilians killed or wounded on average each day.

“Contrary to US President Barrack Obama’s promise that the deployment... would disrupt, dismantle and defeat Taliban insurgents and their al Qaeda allies in the region, the insurgency has become more resilient, multi-structured and deadly,” the group said.

The report said the crisis of bad governance and inept leadership in Afghanistan had been compounded by a disorganised, half-heartedly-committed and concomitantly mistaken international community.

Casualties among NATO and US forces fighting the Taliban hit a record monthly high of over 100 in June, and commanders expect violence to rise amid an anti-insurgent offensive in coming months and as the country prepares for lower-house parliamentary elections on September 18.

At least 1,074 civilians had been killed in the conflict this year and more than 1,500 injured, although the number killed in US and NATO airstrikes fell considerably due to tough restrictions driving down troop reliance on air power, the ARM said.

Coalition forces spokesman General Josef Blotz said at the weekend that while restrictions would be altered to better protect the 150,000 international troops now in the country, the overall rules of engagement would remain unchanged.

Blotz also defended NATO’s record in protecting civilians, and said while foreign troops had killed 42 civilians between June 1 and July 10, 464 died in insurgent bombings and shootings.

The ARM said that 61 percent of its 661 recorded civilian deaths this year were due to insurgents who had “little or no respect for the safety and protection of non-combatants”.

Improvised bombs, or IEDs, killed 282 civilians, more than any other war activity, followed by insurgent suicide attacks in which 127 civilians lost their lives.

Use of homemade bombs, the Taliban weapon of choice, has now risen to record levels and they are blamed for two-thirds of US and NATO fatalities. More than 300 exploded or were detected before detonation in the last week of June, US defence officials said last week.

So far this year, more than 350 foreign soldiers have died in the Afghan war, around 30 for July alone. The total last year was 520.

US and NATO forces were responsible for 210 civilian deaths from January to June, a fifth of the total and down from 26 percent last year. Many were killed in “violent and barbaric intrusions” during counter-insurgency raids, it said.

Local security forces loyal to the Afghan government, including the army, police and militias, were responsible for 108 civilian deaths during the six-month period.

“Many call 2010 the ‘make or break’ year given the enhanced military presence and the preplanned political show games. We, however, fear it will be more of a ‘breaking’ year mostly for Afghan civilians who are increasingly falling victim,” the ARM report said. agencies