CONCERN ON RISING CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN AFGHANISTAN REMAINS HIGH

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- In the run-up to the international
conference on Afghanistan to be held Thursday in London, concern over rising
civilian casualties remains high, the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) said Wednesday.

Its head of operations (South Asia), Jacques de Maio, said the
intensification of the conflict, urgently demanded enhanced precautions by all
parties -- the Afghan national security forces, international military forces
and the armed opposition.

"More must be done to minimise the war's impact on civilians, not only in
combat zones, where fighters and civilians must be distinguished at all times,
but also far from the battlefield...even there, respect and security for medical
and health workers must be restored," he said in a news release published in
the ICRC website datelined Kabul/Geneva.

The ICRC, which has a Regional Delegation office here, said that at the
Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar -- the only referral hospital for some 3.5 million
people -- between 500 and 700 war-related operations were currently performed
each month by ICRC and local surgeons.

"And they are the lucky ones, many other wounded and sick people simply do
not have access to any treatment," said Reto Stocker, head of the ICRC
delegation in Kabul.

"Medical facilities and first-aid posts are often not spared the effects of
the fighting...occasionally, they are even directly targeted. When ambulances
are blocked and sometimes shot at, it becomes impossible to evacuate
casualties,” he said .

He added that medical workers risked life and limb when venturing into
remote
areas.

According to the ICRC, international humanitarian law stipulates that the
sick and wounded, be they civilians or fighters, regardless of which side they
are on, must be cared for with the least possible delay and must not be subject
to any form of discrimination.

The parties to the conflict must, at all times, respect and protect medical
personnel, vehicles and facilities, and must facilitate the rapid passage of
medical assistance to those in need.

The ICRC has been working in Afghanistan since 1979 and currently employs
1,600 staff throughout the country.

It is an impartial, neutral and independent organisation whose
exclusively
humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of the victims of war
and internal violence, and provide them with assistance.

The organisation also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and
strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.

According to reports, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has invited Afghan
President Hamid Karzai, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, North
Altantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies, Afghanistan's neighbours, regional
powers and key international bodies to the London conference to set a political
and security time-table for Afghanistan for 2010 and beyond.

The task includes setting out a roadmap for Afghan forces gradually to take
over more security responsibilities, and refining an exit strategy for Nato
forces.

-- BERNAMA