KABUL – SIGAR reported that the Afghan government controls 229 of 407districts in the country, which is unchanged since last year.

The Special Investigator General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) hasreported that the Taliban’s control of districts as of the end ofJanuary remains virtually unchanged.

According to SIGAR’s latest report, the Taliban continues to maintain itsgrip on half of Afghanistan, despite US military’s reinvigorated effort toforce the group from its strongholds.

Accordingly, early 2018 has already seen an increase in the number of USair strikes conducted in Afghanistan.

The US air force dropped 378 munitions in January, 469 in February, and 339in March 2018 during 215 missions.

The total of 1,186 munitions dropped in the first quarter of 2018 is thehighest number recorded for this period since reporting began in 2013, andis over two and a half times the amount dropped in the first quarter of2017.

According to the SIGAR report, the Afghan government controls or influences229 of Afghanistan’s 407 districts (56.3 percent). The Taliban controls orinfluences 59 districts (14.5 percent). The remaining 119 districts(29.2 percent) are contested.

There is little change between this quarter and last, when a US militaryspokesman noted that “approximately 56 percent of the country’s 407districts are under Afghan government control or influence,30 percent remain contested, and approximately 14 percent are now underinsurgent control or influence.”

The report also noted the record high security incidents in 2017.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) reported in late Februarythat the security situation in Afghanistan remained highly unstable asconflict between government and insurgents continued throughout the countryand high-profile attacks in urban centers increased.

The UN reported 23,744 security incidents during 2017, the most everrecorded, but only a negligible increase from 2016. Armed clashes continuedto cause the most security incidents (63 percent of incidents), roughly onpar with 2016, followed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and airstrikes.

The UN said that the 950 air strikes recorded in 2017 represented a nearly68 percent increase compared with the same period in 2016, though the USAir Force’s figure (4,361 strikes during 1,248 missions) is significantlyhigher. Notably, suicide attacks increased by 50 percent, and targetedkillings and abductions increased by 6 percent compared with 2016.

The eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan continued to experience thehighest number of security incidents in 2017, comprising 55 percent of thetotal.