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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: civilians

civilians stories: 19 news summaries

 Dozens of Afghan Civilians 
 Killed In NATO Tanker Strike 

Blast hit Taliban-hijacked fuel tankers, triggering explosion

Sep 4, 09 4:38 AM CDT
(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 »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • civilian casualties • fuel tankers • blast • International Security Assistance Force • civilians • Afghanistan war

Army Probes Charges That Worker Spied on Protesters

Members say employee used alias to get names, email addresses

Aug 2, 09 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Officials are investigating charges by two anti-war groups that a civilian employee for the Army spent more than 2 years infiltrating their organizations under an assumed name, reports the New York Times. The groups, active near one of the nation’s largest military bases close to Tacoma, Wash., say criminal... More »

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military • US Army • spying • civilians • protesters

(AP) - President Obama today declared the United States and the entire world are "appalled and outraged" by Iran's violent efforts to crush dissent, a clear toughening of his rhetoric as Republican critics at home pound him for being too passive. Obama condemned the "threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the... More »

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Iran • White House • violence • civilians • President Obama • Iranian election • Iranian protests • condemnation • global community

 Sri Lankan Shelling 
 Killed 20,000 Civilians 

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

May 29, 09 7:41 AM CDT
(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 »

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civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • civilians • Sri Lankan Army

 Army: Sri Lanka War 
 in 'Final Stage' 

Tens of thousands of civilians trapped; UN envoy arrives

May 15, 09 6:49 AM CDT
(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 »

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United Nations • civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • IMF • civilians • Mahinda Rajapaksa • Ban Ki-Moon • Sri Lankan Army • Tamils

 Pakistani Civilians Stuck 
 as 55 Militants Die in War 

Curfew curbs residents' flight in 'war of country's survival'

May 9, 09 5:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pakistani troops and warplanes killed at least 55 Taliban militants today in what Prime Minister Raza Gilani is calling a "war of the country's survival," the AP reports. Fighting centered in the northwestern Swat Valley, where a curfew prevented residents from fleeing and the main town has... More »

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United Nations • Taliban • Pakistan • humanitarian crisis • civilians • Swat Valley

US Admits Afghan Raids Killed Civilians

Pentagon reverses earlier claims that Taliban was to blame

May 8, 09 5:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - American officials acknowledged for the first time yesterday that the US military was responsible for at least some of the 100 recent civilian deaths in western Afghanistan. The air strikes have led to angry protests in Afghanistan and calls for the US to withdraw from the country. While initial military... More »

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Afghanistan • Taliban • Pentagon • Robert Gates • civilian casualties • US military • civilians

 Sri Lanka Restarts 
 Airstrikes, Bars Diplomat 

Swedish foreign minister refused entry days before trip

Apr 28, 09 8:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Sri Lankan army bombarded the tiny coastal strip where ethnic Tamil rebels are mounting their last stand, the Guardian reports—a day after the government said it would end airstrikes. Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the region. The eruption comes as Sweden’s foreign minister, scheduled... More »

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civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • Sweden • civilians • Carl Bildt

 Sri Lanka Army 
 Ends Combat, 
 Begins Rescue 

Civilian deaths keep mounting in civil war's endgame

Apr 27, 09 4:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Sri Lankan army has announced an end to shelling in the tiny coastal strip where the Tamil Tigers mounted their last stand in the 26-year civil war, CNN reports. The army is set to move in and rescue trapped civilians whose situation the UN has called catastrophic; many were... More »

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civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • civilians

 6,500 Civilians Dead as 
 Sri Lanka War Nears End 

Army, rebels both accused of exacerbating death toll

Apr 24, 09 6:03 AM CDT
(AP) - Nearly 6,500 ethnic Tamil civilians have been killed in the last 3 months of fighting in Sri Lanka, the UN estimates. The level of civilian deaths has increased dramatically as the bloody 26-year civil war draws to a close, with the army pressing Tamil separatists into a tiny coastal... More »

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United Nations • civilian casualties • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • civilians • Mahinda Rajapaksa

Pentagon Will Fill Civilian Jobs in Afghanistan

Reservists to fill up to 300 positions intended for nonmilitary experts

Apr 23, 09 6:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration is being forced to fill hundreds of new positions designed for civilian experts in Afghanistan with military personnel, mostly reservists, reports the New York Times. The shortfall results from insufficient funds to hire and train nonmilitary people for work in combat zones, and the fact that agencies... More »

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Afghanistan • military • Pentagon • Robert Gates • US military • Department of Defense • civilians • Afghanistan war

(Newser) - Thousands more civilians flooded out of the final battlefield in Sri Lanka’s civil war today, bringing the total number of displaced to more than 80,000, Reuters reports. The UN said that number could be as high as 110,000, though only 7,500 had reached refugee camps clear... More »

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United Nations • Sri Lanka • Tamil Tigers • civil war • refugee • civilians • military offensive • stronghold

 Israel Defends Conduct of Gaza War

Cases of excessive force were rare, army says

Mar 27, 09 2:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Israeli army is defending its actions during the recent Gaza conflict, claiming that, contrary to reports, its soldiers did not act with excessive force or with disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, the New York Times reports. Officials have moved to discount one story in particular: an... More »

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Israel • Gaza • war crimes • murder • Israel and Palestinians • Arab Israeli conflict • civilians

 North Korea Threatens 
 Civilian Flights 

South Korean-US military exercise rattles Pyongyang

Mar 5, 09 1:20 PM CST
(Newser) - North Korea said it could not guarantee the safety of civilian flights near its airspace in light of a joint US-South Korean military exercise, the Telegraph reports. The annual exercise, which South Korea and the US say is purely defensive, is for next week. Pyongyang warned that it could not... More »

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North Korea • South Korea • Kim Jong Il • civilians • military exercises • airspace violation • Lee Myung Bak

Right Groups Cite Evidence
of Israeli Phosphorus Use

UN workers say incendiary weapon used to attack Gaza compound

Jan 17, 09 9:46 AM CST
(Newser) - Witness accounts are adding weight to accusations by human rights groups that Israel is violating international law by using white phosphorus as a weapon against civilians, the Guardian reports. Palestinians say the incendiary shells were used to set their homes on fire and doctors report treating patients with injuries clearly... More »

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Israel • Gaza • chemical weapons • Gaza City • civilians • Israeli offensive

updated

Georgia Accuses Russia
of Bombing Civilians

President says his nation is defending against aggressors

Aug 8, 08 9:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - Russian troops are targeting civilians in their assault on Georgia, President Mikhail Saakashvili told CNN today. “This is the worst nightmare one can encounter,” he said. “They've been bombing Georgia from numerous warplanes and specifically targeting (the) civilian population, and we have scores of wounded and dead.... More »

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Russia • United Nations • Georgia • Mikheil Saakashvili • border • civilians • invasion

 8 Afghan Civilians
 Killed in US-Led Airstrike 

Coalition forces called for air backup during firefight

Jul 17, 08 7:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Eight civilians were killed in a coalition airstrike targeting suspected militants in Afghanistan's western province of Farah, Reuters reports. The deaths occurred after American-led forces called for air backup during a roadside firefight Tuesday. A military statement said that officials "deeply regret any occurrence such as this." There... More »

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Afghanistan • civilian casualties • coalition forces • airstrike • civilians • Afghanistan war • Farah province

 Mexican Troops
 Accused in Drug War Deaths 

Military responsible for deaths of 13 unarmed citizens

Jun 29, 08 9:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mexicans increasingly accuse state troops of beating and murdering innocents on their mission to curb violent drug cartels, Time reports. Since the state assigned 25,000 soldiers to fight drug-runners 2 years ago, troops have killed at least 13 unarmed people—while traffickers have added 1,800 more to the... More »

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Congress • Mexico • Felipe Calderon • civilian casualties • drug trafficking • drug dealing • Mexican drug war • drug cartel • drug dealer • civilians

US Troops Kill
9 Iraqi Civilians

Houses bombed during hunt for al-Qaeda suspects: Iraqi police

Feb 4, 08 5:40 AM CST
(Newser) - American military forces accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians and injured three during raids south of Baghdad Saturday, US officials revealed today. The incident occurred near Iskandariyah, when a helicopter air strike was ordered on a checkpoint after a convoy of US troops in pursuit of Al Qaeda in Iraq came... More »

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Iraq • civilian casualties • Blackwater • US troops • al-Qaeda • Iraq mess • civilians

19 Stories


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