KABUL, Afghanistan — Civilian deaths in the past month jumped by one-third over the same period a year ago, the Afghan government said Sunday.
The surge in noncombatant fatalities is considered particularly worrisome in advance of a major Western military offensive in Kandahar province this spring and summer. Typically, intensified fighting between insurgents and foreign forces brings a corresponding spike in civilian casualties.
Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said 173 civilians were killed between March 21 and April 21, the most recent period for which figures were available. That represented a 33 percent increase from the same dates in 2009, ministry spokesman Zemari Bashary told a news conference in Kabul.
Bashary said the deaths, coupled with the injuries of 380 civilians, were largely caused by explosions — either suicide bombings or roadside bombs. The latest example of that came Sunday, when officials in Paktia province, near the Pakistan border, reported a civilian minibus had hit an improvised explosive device. It appeared at least half a dozen people had been killed and about twice as many hurt, with women and children among the casualties.
