Afghanistan Red Cross sees grim outlook for civilians

[unhappycamper]

Afghan children pass German soldiers in northern Afghanistan. Civilian casualties are on the rise in the conflict, the Red Cross reported, and humanitarian groups’ access to rural areas is limited.


Afghanistan Red Cross sees grim outlook for civilians
By Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times
December 16, 2010, 3:15 a.m.

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan — A spreading conflict is causing increased civilian casualties and displacement across Afghanistan, the head of a major humanitarian organization said Wednesday in a grim year-end assessment.

The U.S. has made protecting civilian lives a key component of its strategy to bolster popular support for the Afghan government and its security forces, lessen the appeal of the Taliban and stabilize the country enough to withdraw troops by 2014.

The primary cause of civilian casualties was the homemade roadside bombs set by the Taliban, said Reto Stocker, head of the Afghan mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross. The bombs target international and Afghan military vehicles, but inadvertently strike passersby.

"We see that the proliferation of armed groups threatens the ability of humanitarian organizations to access people in need of our help and deserving our help," he said.

Just hours before Stocker spoke, a remote-controlled bomb attached to a bicycle killed three children and injured nine other people in the southern city of Kandahar, the epicenter of the Taliban insurgency, according to news releases.

[msongs]

1. afghanis been doing this kind of stuff to each other for 10,000 years, just new technology nt