10,000 civilians killed, injured in Afghanistan in 2017
Kabul: More than 10,000 civilians were killed or injured in violent attacks in Afghanistan last year, the UN has said.
The annual report released on Thursday by the UN's Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) showed the figure had dropped by 9 percent in 2017 from the previous year, reports the Guardian.
"The chilling statistics in this report provide credible data about the war's impact, but the figures alone cannot capture the appalling human suffering inflicted on ordinary people," Unama's chief Tadamichi Yamamoto said here.
US President Donald Trump introduced a more aggressive strategy in Afghanistan in August last year, including a surge in airstrikes. Militants have retaliated with attacks in Kabul in the past few weeks, killing nearly 150 people.
The total civilian toll last year was 3,438 killed and 7,015 wounded, according to the UN.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for the "perpetrators to be held accountable", the Guardian reported.
Unama reported a 5 percent rise in the number of women killed, at 359, with 865 injured. Child casualties stood at 3,179 (861 killed and 2,318 injured) - a 10 percent drop from 2016.
The deadliest attack since the UN began documenting civilian casualties in 2009 was in Kabul on May 31, 2017, when a massive truck bomb killed 92 and injured 491.
More than 28,000 civilians have been killed and more than 52,000 wounded in Afghanistan since 2009 when UN officials started documenting the casualties.
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CM Siddaramaiah to withdraw all cases against pro-Kannada activists
Bengaluru, Jan 27 (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Monday that all cases registered against pro-Kannada activists will be withdrawn.
The CM was addressing a gathering at the unveiling of the 25-feet-tall bronze statue of Bhuvaneshwari, the goddess who represents the Karnataka state identity, on the premises of the Vidhana Soudha.
The statue of Bhuvaneshwari, which was sculpted at an approximate cost of Rs 21.24 crore is 41-feet-tall including the pedestal, and weighs around 31.5 tonne.
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While speaking at the event, although he acknowledged that one must love and embrace all languages, the CM said, in Karnataka, Kannadigas should follow the culture of speaking and interacting with “their brothers and other speakers” in Kannada.
“Instead of speaking incorrectly in other languages, we should speak our own language. In all our neighbouring states, the language spoken by the people of the respective state is sovereign. This should be practiced here, too,” said Siddaramaiah.
Insisting that everyone in the state should develop respect for the Kannada language, culture and art, the CM called for more learning and teaching of reading and writing Kannada.
“Only then will Kannada become the sovereign language,” he added.
