Civilian casualties in Afghanistan were up by 24 per cent in the first half of 2014 compared to a year earlier, the United Nations said Wednesday, according to dpa. A total of 1,564 civilians were killed and 3,289 injured by the end of June, said Georgette Gagnon of the UN's mission in Afghanistan, citing its mid-year report. Ground engagement of troops displaced home-made bombs as the largest single factor, causing two out of every five casualties, she said. The number of women and children hurt rose to 440 and 1,071, an increase of 24 and 34 per cent, respectively. "In 2014, the fight is increasingly taking place in communities, public places and near the homes of ordinary Afghans, with death and injury to women and children in a continued disturbing upward spiral," Gagnon said. "More efforts are needed to protect civilians from the harms of conflict and to ensure accountability for those deliberately and indiscriminately killing them."
