Record civilian death toll in Afghan war last year: UN

A record number civilians were killed in Afghanistan's decade-long war in 2011 -- the fifth straight year the death toll has risen, the United Nations reported yesterday.
A total of 3,021 civilians died -- mostly at the hands of insurgents -- up eight percent from 2,790 in 2010, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its annual report.
The report stands in contrast to an upbeat assessment of 2011 as "remarkably successful" by Nato-led forces, who are preparing to withdraw combat troops in 2014 and hand security over to the Afghan government.
The UN has disagreed previously with Nato assessments, saying in September that the number of security incidents was up 39 percent in the first eight months of the year, while Nato said they were down two percent.
The latest UN report also says the conflict caused growing disruption of life for ordinary Afghans last year, with an estimated 185,632 people displaced -- an increase of 45 percent over 2010.
Asked how this squared with the Nato assessment, a spokeswoman for the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) would not discuss the differences in the two reports.
However, "every civilian death is a tragedy" and Isaf will study the report and aim to implement its recommendations, she said.
Taliban-led insurgents caused 77 percent of the deaths last year, up 14 percent from 2010, while pro-government forces were responsible for killing 410 civilians -- 14 percent of the total, the report said.
Another 279 deaths -- nine percent -- could not be attributed to either side.