Civilian death toll grows in Afghanistan as more troops arrive

The number of non-combatant casualties in Afghanistan rose by almost a third in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period last year.

The report by the UN also shows a 55 per cent increase in the deaths of children among the 1,200 Afghans killed during this period.

It comes as US-led forces are increasing their presence in the country – and as RT's Marina Portnaya reports from New York, it is often civilians who suffer.

“The amount of Afghan civilian children that are dying as a result of this war has increased 55 per cent,” Portnaya said. “According to the UN, the Taliban and other militants are responsible for three quarters of Afghan civilian deaths that have taken place in the past six months. But tied to that, UN officials said that Taliban and other militants have stepped up their game in terms of using AEDs, suicide attacks and being involved in assassination attempts, and that it’s a result of more foreign troops coming into their country, so one has provoked the other – more foreign troops, more attacks of Taliban and the militants, and at the end it’s civilians.”