Bloodiest period in World's longest war in Afghanistan: Report

Bloodiest period in World's longest war in Afghanistan: Report

KABUL: A record 4,313 civilians were injured or killed in Afghanistan`s war against the Islamist Taliban between July and September, the United Nations (UN) said on Thursday.

The tally was up 42 per cent from the same period last year - in a war that ebbs and flows with the seasonal weather - and included more than a thousand deaths, according to data from the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

That made it the bloodiest period in the world`s longest-running war since UNAMA began collecting like-for-like figures in 2009. It brought the total of casualties for the first nine months of 2019 to over 8,000.

“Civilian casualties at record-high levels clearly show the need for all parties concerned to pay much more attention to protecting the civilian population, including through a review of conduct during combat operations,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, one of the U.N.`s top officials in Afghanistan.