High Civilian War Toll Reported in Study

GENEVA — Civilians make up 90% of the victims of contemporary conflicts, according to a Swedish study issued Monday at the launch of a Red Cross campaign to protect war victims.

"Civilians are increasingly caught in the crossfire--bombed by planes they can barely see, blown up by so-called 'fire-and-forget' missiles, mutilated by mines," said Swedish Princess Christina, vice president of the World Campaign for the Protection of Victims of War.

"The suffering caused to the millions of victims is an insult to humanity," she told a news conference. "The outbreak of the fighting in the gulf has . . . suddenly brought home the reality of war to people the world over."