KABUL – At least 3,812 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the firsthalf of 2019 in the war against militant groups, including a big increasein the number of casualties caused by government and foreign forces, theUnited Nations said on Tuesday.
The latest casualty figures were released as talks between the Taliban andUS officials to end the 18-year Afghan war entered an important stage, withUS negotiators aiming to reach a peace deal before September 1.
However, the war has raged on despite the diplomatic efforts, forcingcivilians to live under the constant threat of being targeted by militantsor being caught up in ground fighting, or becoming inadvertent victims ofair strikes by Afghan government and foreign forces.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its latest reportground raids and clashes caused the most civilian casualties, followed bybomb attacks and air strikes.
Taliban and Islamic State fighters killed 531 Afghans and wounded 1,437between January 1 and June 30. The terrorist groups deliberately targeted985 civilians, including government officials, tribal elders, aid workers,and religious scholars, UNAMA said in its report.
It said pro-government forces killed 717 Afghans and wounded 680 in the sixmonths to June 30, a 31 per cent increase from the corresponding period in2018.
At least 144 women and 327 children were killed and more than 1,000 woundedacross the country.
“Parties to the conflict may give differing explanations for recent trends,each designed to justify their own military tactics,” UNAMA human rightschief Richard Bennett said.
“The fact remains that only a determined effort to avoid civilian harm, notjust by abiding by international humanitarian law but also by reducing theintensity of the fighting, will decrease the suffering of civilianAfghans,” he said.
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US and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops are stationedin Afghanistan on a mission to train assist and advise Afghan forces andsome members of US forces carry out counter-terrorism operations.
Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesperson for US forces in Afghanistan,rejected the methods and findings used by UNAMA, saying the collection ofevidence by US forces were ‘more thorough, evidentiary and accurate’.
Leggett, however, did not give any US military figures for civiliancasualties but said US forces worked closely with Afghan security forces toprevent them.
“We follow the highest standards of accuracy and accountability and alwayswork to avoid harm to civilian non-combatants,” Leggett said.
The United States is trying to negotiate a deal under which foreign forceswould pull out in return for security guarantees by the Taliban, includinga pledge that the country will not become a safe haven for terror groups.
The Taliban control or contest half the country, more than at any timesince being overthrown by US led Afghan forces in late 2001, but they haverejected calls for a ceasefire until all foreign forces leave Afghanistan.
The Afghan government and the Taliban were not immediately available tocomment on the UN report. -APP/AFP
