Civilian casualties in Afghanistan up 14 per cent last year, says new UN report --- 8 February 2014 – Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose by 14 per cent last year, according to a new report released on Saturday by the United Nations, which also found that it was the worst year since 2009 in terms of the number of women and children killed or injured as a result of conflict-related violence. -- The 2013 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, produced by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), recorded a total of 8,615 civilian casualties with 2,959 civilian deaths and 5,656 injured last year. -- The figures mark a 7 per cent increase in deaths and a 17 per cent increase in injuries as compared to 2012, the Mission said in a news release. Since 2009, the armed conflict has claimed the lives of 14,064 Afghan civilians and injured thousands more. -- “Armed conflict took an unrelenting toll on Afghan civilians in 2013,” said the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Ján Kubiš. - More, UN, at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47107&Cr=Afghan&Cr1=