Killings of civilians rise as Afghan violence threatens peace moves

FILE PHOTO: An Afghan policeman keeps watch near the site of an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan January 20, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

KABUL (Reuters) - Killings of civilians in Afghanistan's conflict rose to more than 2,900 last year, the country's human rights commission said on Wednesday, despite stepped up diplomacy to end the war including peace talks taking place in Qatar.

The deaths are part of a wider increase in violence that threatens a delicate peace process, undermining international calls for a ceasefire as the Afghan government takes part in peace negotiations with the insurgent Taliban.