A/HRC/4/98* page 9 C. Attacks on schools 31. Schools were attacked regularly in the first half of 2006 and although the number of attacks decreased in the second half of the year, schools continued to be subjected to violence. In 2006, over 200 schools were burned, attacked or partially destroyed, at least 15 teachers were killed and some 200,000 students were affected by school closures. Local community consultations suggest that the number of closed schools is underreported. Schools all over the country have been affected. Although insurgent activity has intensified, not all violence can be attributed solely to anti-Government elements: intercommunal feuds and competition over local resource allocation are also sources of violent conflict. 32. There is no notable distinction between the targeting of girls’ and boys’ schools, but the impact of such attacks has nonetheless been felt more by females because there are fewer girls’ schools and the greater tendency of parents to withdraw girls from education due to perceived security threats. Communities and local authorities condemned attacks and peaceful demonstrations were held in Maimana, Herat and Farah. President Karzai and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education issued condemnatory public statements after six children were killed in a school in Kunar. Communities have also established night patrols and guards. D. Counter-insurgency operations 33. In October 2006, international forces mandated by the Security Council to support the Government came under the single command of the 38-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). ISAF currently has approximately 36,000 soldiers under its command and, in addition, some 10,500 United States troops remain engaged in “Operation Enduring Freedom”. 34. International military operations intensified in 2006 and a number of incidents were reported in which civilians were either mistaken for terrorists or caught in the crossfire during NATO/ISAF operations. The majority of fatalities were reported in the southern region. In May, 9 civilians were killed allegedly during a NATO/ISAF air strike in Kajaki District, Helmand; a government fact-finding mission found that 10 civilians had been killed and 27 injured in a NATO/ISAF raid on an alleged insurgent compound in Dehjawz village, near Tirin Kot, Uruzgan. Of particular concern was the protracted offensive in Zherai/Panjwai districts in which NATO/ISAF is alleged to have killed 23 civilians as part of “Operation Medusa”. 35. President Karzai and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan condemned civilian deaths caused by insurgents and NATO/ISAF in 2006. In December 2006, following incidents in Kandahar, UNAMA issued a public report urging NATO/ISAF and the Taliban to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law and to ensure that civilian life is protected at all times. 36. Community support for NATO/ISAF appears to have waned following forced searches of private homes, destruction of property and civilian deaths attributed to United States forces and NATO/ISAF. In December 2006 in Mandozai District, Khost Province, five members of a prominent family were killed, leading to community demonstrations against international forces.