US report: Afghan, Iraq human rights abuses up

As the U.S. military prepares to leave Iraq, the State Department is blaming the Iraqi government for arbitrary killings of civilians and other human rights abuses. The department's annual human rights report, released Thursday, also highlighted abuses in Afghanistan, another country where American troops are battling an insurgency. Civilians suffered the most when violence in Afghanistan spiked last year, the report said. Blaming the insurgents, the report said that almost one-third of Afghanistan was plunged into armed conflict, reducing the government's ability to protect its citizens and extend its influence. In Iraq, human rights abuses continued in 2009 despite an improvement in general security, the report said. The report on the state of human rights in 194 countries around the world also described abuses in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe.