Un Urges End To Afghan Deaths
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has called on US and Nato forces in Afghanistan to prevent more civilian deaths. "I am here to demonstrate and to convey my strong commitment and support for peace and stability for ... Afghanistan's people," Ban said at a joint news conference with Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, in Kabul on Wedneday. According to the UN, more than 2,100 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in 2008 in attacks by Taliban fighters, as well as in raids conducted by US and Nato forces. That constitutes a 40 per cent increase from 2007. Afghans say indiscriminate missile attacks by US-led forces on suspected Taliban hideouts have resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths. The US military, however, insists that great precaution is taken during the operations to prevent civilian deaths. Karzai concern The UN chief's call essentially echoed what Karzai has been calling for years. Karzai has frequently voiced his own anger over the deaths of civilians at the hands of foreign troops. The UN chief was scheduled to meet members of the Afghan parliament and Nato military leaders during his visit. Ban has not visited Afghanistan since 2007. His visit coincides with a renewed focus on the country by Washington. Barack Obama, the new US president, has said he may send up to 30,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan to defeat a resurgent Taliban. The Taliban, driven out of Kabul in December 2001, has been gaining ground in recent months. The group is blamed for an upsurge in attacks on foreign and Afghan forces. english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/02/200924104956759493.html