April 9,
2008: Last year, 2,100 Afghan civilians were killed, over 90 percent of them by
the Taliban and Russians. Most (about 60 percent) of the dead civilians were
killed by the Taliban. Some were the victims of suicide bombs, or roadside
bombs, or used as human shields. Others were killed by Taliban death squads,
intent on terrorizing civilians to cooperate with the Islamic radicals. About
five percent were killed by Afghan security forces and foreign troops, when
they were caught in the crossfire (of bullets or smart bombs). Another 29
percent were killed by Russian mines and explosive left over from the 1980s
war. Some of those mines and shells were left by various Afghan factions during
the civil war of the 1990s.
In the
past two decades, about 370,00 mines and other explosive devises have been disposed
of. Over 90 percent of these items are anti-personnel mines, most of them of
Russian manufacture. The demining effort continues, most of it paid for by the
United States.
