UN says it's talking to Taliban about reducing civilian casualties but hasn't seen any change

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. says it's been talking to the Taliban about reducing civilian casualties in Afghanistan but hasn't seen any change on the ground, where it attributes 75 percent of deaths and injuries this year to the insurgent group that used to rule the country.

Nicholas Haysom, the top U.N. envoy in Afghanistan, told a news conference Friday that the U.N. has shared its casualty reports with Taliban officials in the Gulf nation of Qatar. He said the Taliban officials claim the U.N. figures are inaccurate.

Georgette Gagnon, the U.N. Afghan mission's human rights director, said the world body has seen a change in Taliban "messaging" but no measurable improvement on the ground.