2,118 Afghan civilians killed in 2008: UN

The intensifying conflict in Afghanistan killed 2,118 civilians in 2008, a 39 per cent increase on the number who lost their lives the previous year, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The intensifying conflict in Afghanistan killed 2,118 civilians in 2008, a 39 per cent increase on the number who lost their lives the previous year, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

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Fifty-five percent of the deaths were attributed to anti-government forces and 39 per cent to pro-government forces, which would include US-led and NATO troops, it said in a report on civilian casualties.

"The 2008 civilian death toll is thus the highest of any year since the end of major hostilities which resulted in the demise of the Taliban regime at the end of 2001," the report said.