UN: Civilians increasingly being targeted in war

UNITED NATIONS — The UN humanitarian chief says civilians account for the vast majority of casualties in armed conflicts and are increasingly being targeted and forced to flee their homes. John Holmes says thousands of civilians died in conflicts from Gaza, Sri Lanka and Congo to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia in 2009 and "an untold number" suffered physical and psychological injuries. And Holmes said "2010 does not look much better." He told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that 6.8 million people were displaced within their own country by conflict last year, more than at any point since the mid-1990s. At the end of the year, Holmes said, "an alarming total" of 27.1 million people worldwide were internally displaced as a result of conflict, the highest number ever. — AP