Latest News

Mon, 09/17/2012

NATO air strike 'kills eight Afghan women'

For More Information See: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/nato-air-strike-kills-eight-afghan-women/...

EIGHT women were killed and eight women wounded in a NATO air strike in a remote area east of Kabul, an Afghan official said.

NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force said it had targeted insurgents, but had been made aware of "possible ISAF-caused civilian casualties" numbering five to eight, and extended its sincerest condolences over the "tragic loss of life".

Civilian casualties from NATO air strikes have strained relations between the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai. In June, ISAF ordered an end to air strikes on homes, except as a last resort.

Tue, 09/11/2012

Civilian casualties soar as fighting continues in Syria

For More Information See: http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/newsbriefs/2012/09/07/newsbrief-01

Government forces shelled the southern outskirts of Syria's capital Friday (September 7th) as troops stormed nearby towns and clashed with Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters, AFP reported.

Witnesses told AFP that the city's southern suburb of Tadamun and the neighbouring Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk came under heavy shellfire.

On the southeast outskirts of Damascus, hundreds of government troops backed by armour stormed the town of Babila, where FSA fighters were entrenched, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

A raid by security forces on al-Qazzaz district of southeast Damascus sparked clashes with opposition fighters, the...

Mon, 09/10/2012

Kenya taken to task over Kismayu civilian deaths

For More Information See: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Kenya+taken+to+task+over+Kismayu+civilian+deaths++/...

New York

The United Nations has reiterated its concerns about reports of civilian deaths in the Somalia port city of Kismayu said to have been caused by shells fired from a Kenyan warship.

A spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday that the world agency stands by comments made on August 14 by Mark Bowden, its humanitarian coordinator for Somalia.

Mr Bowden said then he was “deeply concerned about reports of civilian...

Thu, 09/06/2012

Kenya: Somalia/Kenya - Protect Civilians in Kismayo - Three Dead, Two Wounded in Kenyan Naval Shelling

For More Information See: http://allafrica.com/stories/201209050476.html

Nairobi — The Kenyan government should promptly investigate civilian casualties during fighting between a Kenyan naval ship and al-Shabaab...

Tue, 09/04/2012

US Decries Deaths in Syria; Against French Plans

For More Information See: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-300-killed-suburbs-syrian-capital-17088159

The Obama administration expressed opposition to French President Francoise Hollande's call for the Syrian opposition to quickly form a provisional government, saying it was premature when the opponents to Syrian President Bashar Assad are still so fractured.

American officials said Monday the French announcement wasn't coordinated with other nations that have been working on a diplomatic solution to the civil war and that the U.S. wouldn't echo Hollande's proposal any time soon.

Tue, 08/28/2012

Taliban and NATO coalition argue over recent civilian deaths in Afghanistan

For More Information See: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/18/afghanistan/

KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bombing at a wedding, a deadly airstrike on a village, grenades in a mosque — hundreds of Afghan civilians are dying violently this summer, while the Taliban and the NATO coalition wage verbal warfare.

A UN report says 1,145 civilians were killed and 1,954 others injured during the first half of the year, 80% of them by militants.

But like other aspects of this decade-long war, facts are often obscured by perception and propaganda.

Tue, 08/21/2012

NATO, Taliban in war of words over Afghan deaths

For More Information See: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/18/nato-taliban-in-war-words-over-afghan-de...

A suicide bombing at a wedding, a deadly airstrike on a village, grenades in a mosque — hundreds of Afghan civilians are dying violently this summer, while the Taliban and the NATO coalition wage verbal warfare.

A U.N. report says 1,145 civilians were killed and 1,954 others injured during the first half of the year, 80 percent of them by militants.

But like other aspects of this decade-long war, facts are often obscured by perception and propaganda.

That has left both sides locked in a battle of words, crafted to win the Afghan public's support.

...

Wed, 08/15/2012

Somalia: Strikes On Southern Somalia Continue Despite Civilian Casualties

For More Information See: http://allafrica.com/stories/201208140408.html

Kismayo, Somalia — Heavy air and sea strikes reportedly by the Kenyan military on the southern port city of Kismayo resulted in 5 civilian deaths on Sunday which did not stop more shelling on Monday, Garowe Online reports.

The barrage of strikes reportedly by Kenya's navy and air force on the Al Shabaab controlled port city of Kismayo resulted in at least 5 civilian casualties and four other injuries.

According to local sources the civilian casualties occurred after a mortar hit a family's house in the V- Afmadow neighborhood late Sunday evening killing 4 members of one family.

Tue, 08/14/2012

Afghan civilian deaths down but trend eroding

For More Information See: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/08/08/afghan-civilian-deaths-down-but-trend-er...

Afghan civilian deaths dropped 22 percent in the first six months of 2012 compared with a year ago, but the number of civilians killed in targeted assassinations surged, the United Nations said in a report released Wednesday.

The overall reduction was largely due to a decrease in the number killed by insurgents' homemade bombs and suicide attacks, the report said. The number of civilians who died in NATO attacks including airstrikes also fell.

Wed, 08/01/2012

DRC: MSF warns of civilian casualties

For More Information See: http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/DRC-MSF-warns-of-civilian-casualties-20120730

Rutshuru, DRC - Rebel fighters on Monday pushed to ring a regional capital in Democratic Republic of Congo, as medical charity MSF said it had treated scores of wounded civilians and was sheltering hundreds.

The so-called M23 rebels are moving toward the key city of Goma, the regional capital of Nord-Kivu province. The mountainous and resource-rich region bordering Uganda and Rwanda has long been torn by ethnic violence and power struggles.