International human rights group Amnesty International has urged the US, its allies and the Taliban to protect innocent civilians who are caught in the middle in what may possibly turn out to be a long-drawn war.

"Now that the US and the UK have launched military strikes against targets in Afghanistan, their forces and their Taliban opponents must ensure full respect for human rights, and the rules and principles governing armed conflicts," a statement from AI today read.

"Both sides must take all necessary precautions to protect civilians, vulnerable groups such as women and ethnic minorities must not be subjected to further abuses, and captured combatants must be treated as Prisoners of War in accordance with international law," the statement added.

The US launched strikes into Afghanistan last Sunday in retaliation against the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon last September which the US claims is the responsibility of the alleged international terrorist Osama bin Laden.

A second wave of attacks against Afghanistan commenced yesterday.

The Taliban, the ruling regime in Afghanistan harbouring Osama, has repeatedly claimed that he had nothing to do with the US attacks.

Intensify humanitarian efforts

The London-based AI also called for the international community to intensify their efforts in helping the refugees affected by the conflict.

"We call on the international community to intensify efforts to respond to the humanitarian emergency inside Afghanistan and in the neighbouring countries, which together already host the largest refugee population in the world," the statement read.

Fears of an impending US attack had produced a daily stream of 500 refugees moving away from the Taliban-controlled northeastern capital of Kabul fleeing further north.

In a matter of weeks 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants of the city have left for safer areas, mainly to bordering countries of Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkmenistan and China. All six countries have since closed their borders.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is expecting 1.5 million more.

Aid package

Two days ago US President Bush announced that his administration would be pledging over RM1.2 billion in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan in addition to RM700 million the US government had already contributed.

The Bush adminstration's under secretary for global affairs, Paula Dobriansky, stated that the aid package was to address the 'desperate' conditions in Afghanistan.

"Where the Taliban has failed its own people, we have consistently sought to ameliorate the conditions of the Afghans," she said.

Meanwhile, Muslim NGO Jemaah Islah Malaysia deputy president Zaid Kamaruddin called on the US to immediately halt its military operations in Afghanistan.

"The US attacks on the Afghanistan clearly shows its arrogance to world wide calls for a non-military reaction to the terrorism.

"The attacks on Afghanistan has placed the US and it allies on the same level as the terrorists who were accused of being responsible for the Sept 11 attacks," Zaid said.