KABUL: Civilian deaths in the Afghanistan war jumped to a record high of 2,777 in 2010, a 15 percent rise on the previous year, the UN's mission in the country announced Wednesday.
Insurgents were linked to 75 percent of civilian deaths compared to 16 percent attributed to foreign and government forces, according to the annual report, released with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. No responsibility could be determined for the deaths of nine percent of civilians.
A spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed that the overall figure was the highest annual death toll since the Taliban were ousted by a US-led invasion in late 2001.
Civilian deaths caused by coalition forces is a highly sensitive issue in Afghanistan, and one that came under the spotlight again last week when nine young boys were mistakenly killed in an air strike in eastern Afghanistan.
President Hamid Karzai angrily rejected a rare public apology over the incident from General David Petraeus, the US commander of troops in Afghanistan.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates repeated the public expression of sorrow during a visit to the country on Monday.
The UN's report said suicide attacks and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) killed 1,141 people, while air strikes by pro-government forces killed 171 people.
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