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Taliban Using 'Human Shields' in Afghanistan

   VOA News 17 February 2010

   An  Afghan  military  official  says Taliban fighters are increasingly
   using  civilians as "human shields" as Afghan and NATO forces press on
   with a major offensive in Helmand province.
   Afghan  commander  General  Mohiudin Ghori said Wednesday that Taliban
   fighters  have  been  seen ordering women and children to stand on the
   roofs of houses while the militants fire weapons around them.
   NATO  commanders  have  ordered that civilians be protected during the
   offensive on the town of Marjah, a town of 80,000 and a former Taliban
   stronghold.
   Human  rights  group  Amnesty  International  says thousands of Afghan
   civilians are "caught up in the fighting".
   NATO says 15 civilians have been killed since the operation began last
   Saturday.
   The  international  force has reported steady progress in clearing the
   town of militants, though the effort has been slowed by roadside bombs
   and insurgent snipers.
   Some  15,000  Afghan  and  NATO  troops are involved in the offensive,
   which  is  the  biggest  joint  operation since the war in Afghanistan
   began in late 2001.
   In  a  separate  development, NATO says its forces killed more than 12
   militants in an air strike Tuesday near the Pakistani border.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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