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NEWS ABOUT: civilian casualties

Blackwater Guards Indicted in Afghan Killings

Contractors face murder charges in Kabul shootings

(Newser) - A Virginia jury has indicted two former Blackwater guards on second-degree murder charges for their actions during confrontation in Kabul last year that left two Afghans dead and another wounded. The men, both employed as trainers by Blackwater subsidiary Paravant, opened fire on a vehicle at an intersection after their... More »

Iraq Will Sue Blackwater Guards

Dismissal of manslaughter charges leaves Baghdad irate

(Newser) - Outraged by an American judge's dismissal of manslaughter charges against five security contractors accused of massacring 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007, Iraq plans to sue the former Blackwater Worldwide security guards. "We were expecting that American justice system is fair and independent," an Iraqi lawyer tells CNN . "... More »

In Its First Estimate, Iraq Says 85K Killed Since '04

(AP) - At least 85,694 Iraqis lost their lives from 2004 to 2008 in violence, the Iraqi government said today in its first comprehensive tally released since the war began. Another 147,195 were wounded during that four-year period, says the Human Rights Ministry. The number includes Iraqi civilians, military, and... More »

McChrystal Surprised by 'Breadth of Violence'

Civilian casualties all-important in Afghanistan, commander says

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal, whose mission for the last few months has been to size up the situation in Afghanistan and redirect US strategy, says he found the violence to be worse than he expected going in. “I think that in some areas that the breadth of violence, the geographical... More »

Congress, Military Question 'Protect Afghans' Rule

(Newser) - With US casualties mounting in Afghanistan, some members of Congress are questioning recent orders that have put troops at greater risk in order to protect Afghan civilians, the Washington Post reports. Gen. Stanley McChrystal recently berated the military for being “preoccupied with protection of our own forces.” He... More »

German Officer May Have Misled US Fighters in Civilian Disaster

Gave false info to pilots in Afghan tanker strike

(Newser) - Just before 2am on Sept. 4, German Col. Georg Klein gave a two-word command—"Weapons release!"—and US fighter jets bombed a pair of tanker trucks in Kunduz, Afghanistan, killing 100 Afghans clustered around them, many of them civilians. Although his tour has ended, the officer is... More »

McChrystal Visits Site of Airstrike, Pledges Inquiry

Promises public investigation in televised address

(Newser) - Gen. Stanley McChrystal visited the site of a NATO airstrike today that killed scores of Aghan civilians and made an unprecedented televised address in which he promised a full public inquiry, Reuters reports. “Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of the Afghan people,” said the... More »

NATO Probes 'Disastrous' Air Strike; 90 Dead

Horrific injuries reported after fireball engulfs villagers

(Newser) - NATO will conduct a "thorough investigation" into the air strike on two Taliban-hijacked fuel tankers in Afghanistan that killed 90 people today, many of them believed to be civilians, the alliance's secretary general said. An investigation team has already been sent to the area as reports trickle in of... More »

Dozens of Afghan Civilians Killed In NATO Tanker Strike

Blast hit Taliban-hijacked fuel tankers, triggering explosion

(Newser) - At least 90 people were killed in northern Afghanistan today when a NATO air strike hit two fuel tankers hijacked by the Taliban, setting off a massive explosion. At least 40 of the dead were civilians, said officials. Many more people are injured, and the local hospital in Kunduz province... More »

Roadside Bomb Kills 21 Afghan Civilians

(AP) - A roadside bomb hit a wedding party on its way to a ceremony in southern Afghanistan, killing 21 people including women and children, Afghan officials said today. A local police chief said that a Western airstrike hours later killed five farmers loading cucumbers into a taxi in a neighboring province;... More »

US to Cut Down on Afghan Airstrikes

(Newser) - The US military is tightening its rules regarding airstrikes in Afghanistan, in the face of mounting civilian casualties, the New York Times reports. Airstrikes will now be used mostly to prevent coalition forces from being overrun, new Afghan commander Stanley McChrystal announced. “Air power contains the seeds of our... More »

Afghanistan Attacks at Record High

(Newser) - Violence in Afghanistan is the worst it’s been since 2001, the US commander of forces in the region announced today. Insurgents staged more than 400 attacks during the past week, compared to less than 50 per week in January 2004, the BBC reports. Gen David Petraeus said allied forces... More »

US Committed Serious Errors in Afghan Strikes: Report

Investigation finds civilian deaths could have been reduced

(Newser) - The American military could have reduced the number of civilian causalities during its controversial Afghanistan air strikes last month if it had followed proper procedures, a military investigation has found. Personnel made serious errors in the bloody May 4 raids, including the failure of one plane to reconfirm a target... More »

EU Sold Millions in Weapons to Sri Lankan Army

European arms may have been used in civil war atrocities

(Newser) - European Union nations sold millions of dollars worth of arms and military equipment to the Sri Lankan army in the final stages of its 26-year civil war, in which the army has been accused of atrocities. The UK sold the country $22.3 million in armored vehicles and weapons, though... More »

Sri Lankan Shelling Killed 20,000 Civilians

Photos, UN documents reveal hidden massacre at civil war's end

(Newser) - The final battles of the 26-year civil war in Sri Lanka killed more than 20,000 Tamil civilians, most from government shelling, an investigation by the Times of London concludes. The number of casualties is three times higher than the government admitted. Aerial photographs, eyewitness testimony, and confidential UN documents... More »

Pakistan Claims Key Square in Swat City

(Newser) - Pakistan says it has claimed a crucial part of the Swat Valley’s largest city from the Taliban, the New York Times reports. Ten Taliban fighters and six Pakistani soldiers died fighting over Mingora’s Green Square, known as “Slaughter Square” for its reputation as a beheaded-body dumping ground... More »

Tamil Boss Shot Dead Trying to Flee

After 26 years, Tamil Tigers resoundingly defeated

(Newser) - The leader of the Tamil Tigers was shot dead before dawn this morning as the Sri Lankan army moved into the rebel group's final stronghold, the Guardian reports. Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed while trying to flee the war zone in an ambulance. Four other senior Tigers, including his son, were... More »

'Rumsfeld's Renegades' Blamed for Afghan Deaths

Unit of 'cowboys' behind some of war's worst civilian casualty incidents

(Newser) - A Special Forces unit set up by Donald Rumsfeld is being blamed for some of the worst civilian casualty incidents in the Afghanistan war, the Independent reports. The Marine Corps' Special Operations Command—known as MarSOC—ordered the air strikes that Afghan officials say killed 140 civilians last week, and... More »

Army: Sri Lanka War in 'Final Stage'

Tens of thousands of civilians trapped; UN envoy arrives

(Newser) - The Sri Lankan government claims to be within 48 hours of capturing the last holdout of Tamil Tigers, as the Red Cross warned of "an unimaginable human catastrophe" for the tens of thousands of civilians trapped in the war zone. Only a few hundred rebels remain in a two-mile-square... More »

US Strike on Taliban Left 95 Kids Dead: Afghan Officials

Total toll said to be 140, but US disputes claim

(Newser) - Ninety-five children are among the 140 people said to have died in US airstrikes last week aimed at the Taliban in western Afghanistan, according to a list compiled by Afghan officials. If the toll is correct, the AP reports, it marks the highest number of civilian deaths since 2001. The... More »

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