The International Red Cross says civilian casualties in Sri Lanka have reached appalling levels, as fighting between the military and Tamil Tiger rebels intensifies.

NATO officials say they plan to use smaller bombs in Afghanistan to limit the rise in civilian casualties. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the number of civilians killed during fighting between NATO with the Taleban has damaged the reputation of the alliance.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the alliance must do everything in its power to avoid civilian casualties in Afghanistan. But he warned that NATO opponents in Afghanistan cannot be put on the same moral ground as alliance forces.

Afghan officials say a U.S.-led coalition airstrike in southern Afghanistan has killed several civilians and Taleban militants. Local officials say dozens of people were killed or wounded, with Taleban militants among the dead, when airstrikes targeted militants in a village in southern Helmand province.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has criticized the Iraqi government for refusing to disclose recent casualty figures in the war-torn country. In a quarterly report released today, UNAMI said the office of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had complained in January that the UN mission's casualty reports were exaggerated. Al-Maliki has barred other Iraqi officials from releasing further data.