AFGHAN Taliban and other extremist groups should face a war crimes tribunal over deliberate civilian deaths in Afghanistan this year.
The demand by Amnesty International was prompted by a UN report which showed the civilian death toll from the battle between insurgents and allied forces rose 31 per cent in the first six months of this year, largely due to the targeted killing of government supporters by insurgents.
The report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan found deaths and injuries caused by NATO and Afghan government forces had dropped by 30 per cent compared with the same period last year, largely due to new rules of engagement that restrict the use of air power and heavy weapons.
But in the same period civilian executions and assassinations by militants rose more than 95 per cent to 183 recorded deaths.
Attacks by the Taliban and other anti-government forces — increasingly through the use of improvised explosive devices — accounted for more than 76 per cent of civilian casualties and 72 per cent of all deaths. The latest figures came just days after the Taliban claimed responsibility for killing 10 civilian aid workers.
“The Taliban and other insurgents are becoming far bolder in their systematic killing of civilians. Targeting of civilians is a war crime, plain and simple” Amnesty’s Asia-Pacific director, Sam Zarifi, said in a statement.
“There is no practical justice system in Afghanistan now . . . so the Afghan government should ask the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity.” Mr Zarifi said pro-government forces were responsible for at least 223 deaths in six months, and he called for greater transparency in their operations.
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