Taliban blamed for most civilian deaths

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Afghanistan's civilian casualties in 2009 rose 14 percent from the previous year, with the Taliban responsible for most of the deaths, a U.N. report said.

The "vast majority" of the deaths were caused by Taliban attacks, says the report by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

There were 2,412 civilian deaths in 2009 compared with 2,118 killed in 2008, the report said. Last year was the worst for Afghan civilians in the war since 2001 when a U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban regime, the BBC reported.

The U.N. report comes as U.S. forces in Afghanistan are under strict orders to avoid civilian casualties in their campaigns against the Taliban, who use the deaths as a propaganda tool in support of its insurgency.

The UNAMA study said deaths attributed to allied forces dropped nearly 30 percent in 2009.

"This decrease reflects measures taken by international military forces to conduct operations in a manner that reduces the risk posed to civilians," the report said.

The BBC report, however, said there is growing concern about civilian casualties rising with the U.S. and NATO troop surge in that country.

Earlier this week, a BBC poll of more than 1,500 Afghans indicated 70 percent said they believed the country is going in the right direction, up sharply from 40 percent last year.