Afghan civilian casualties continue to mount

Local people and rights groups in southern Afghanistan are increasingly concerned about what they say is an escalation in civilian deaths and injuries resulting from the growing insurgency in the region. Lying in bed in Kandahar's main hospital, 35-year-old Mohammad Jailani, whose face, chest and legs are covered by white bandages, is surrounded by his relatives. "Death is much better for me than living like this… all of my body is wounded by bomb fragments," said Jailani. He lives in the village of Kakrak, some eight miles north of Tarin Kowt, capital of the southern province of Oruzgan. He said his village was bombed by US-led coalition warplanes on July 10. "There was continued bombing and attacks on our village from midnight until the morning," he explained. A parliamentarian from Oruzgan said there had been extensive loss of life during the air strikes. "More than 60 innocent civilians including women and children were killed, and another 35 to 40 were injured in Kakrak, Dejoez and Perosha villages during the US-led coalition air strikes," Abdul Khaliq Mujahid said. Villagers at the hospital tending to injured family confirmed that Taliban fighters had been in their communities but had fled during the air strikes. Oruzgan, the home province of Taliban fugitive leader Mullah Omar, has seen deadly battles recently between Taliban fighters and US-led forces. US officials said earlier in the week that coalition air strikes on July 10 killed 40 suspected Taliban fighters at villages near the provincial capital of Tarin Kowt, a figure disputed by survivors. "Just four or five Taliban are known to have been killed, but most of them fled unhurt from the scene," a resident of Kakrak told IRIN, requesting anonymity. According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), at least 600 of the 1,100 deaths in southern Afghanistan this year have been civilians killed by insurgents or coalition forces. Ahmad Nader Nadery, a spokesperson for the AIHRC, said that his organization's regional office in Kandahar had received several complaints from local people about civilian casualties during the coalition air strikes. "It is a matter of great concern to us. We have been asking the coalition forces to take all necessary measures to prevent civilian deaths during military operations," Nadery said from the capital, Kabul. Post-conflict Afghanistan has seen an upsurge in Taliban-led violence this year with regular bombings, shootings and suicide attacks. According to officials from the Afghan Defense Ministry, more than 200 militants have been killed since the largest anti-Taliban operation (Operation Mountain Thrust)–involving some 10,000 soldiers from Afghan, British, Canadian and US forces–was launched in mid-May to flush out increasingly bold insurgents. Abdul Quadar Norzai, regional head of AIHRC in Kandahar, said that 22 civilians had been killed when the village of Ghachi Zari in the Kajaki district of the southern Helmand province, was bombed by coalition aircraft this week. "According to our information we collected from the residents some 22 civilians were killed in two separate houses in Ghachi Zari village during coalition air strikes," Norzai explained. Norzai said that the ongoing coalition military operation in the Sangin district of Helmand had forced hundreds of families to leave their houses and move to other areas. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has ordered a probe into the Oruzgan bombing and alleged civilian casualties. Meanwhile, the violence continued on July 16 when a suicide bomber struck outside a government building in the southeast town of Gardez, killing three civilians and an Afghan soldier. The attacker, strapped with explosives, blew himself up in front of the provincial government office, a local government official said. British and Afghan forces came under heavy fire in the town of Nazad in Helmand province. "This is the 27th attack in 18 days," said British military spokesman Captain Drew Gibson. "Our forces are coming under fire from a hospital. It appears it is a deliberate attempt to draw us into firing back at the hospital." In two separate raids close to Sangin district of Helmand province the night before, coalition and Afghan troops, backed by air strikes, killed 35 Taliban guerrillas, according to Helmand's police chief.