KABUL – Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit historic high of 10,300,United Nations report has claimed.
A new report by the United Nations released on Saturday – amid the start ofa reduction in violence countrywide – shows that a record number ofcivilians were killed in 2019 in the ongoing conflict.
The report says the organization documented 3,403 civilians killed and6,989 injured, with “the majority of the civilian casualties inflicted byanti-government elements, TOLO News has reported.
It is the sixth year in a row that the number of civilian casualties hasexceeded 10,000, and this year the total number of civilian casualties inthe conflict, since the UN began reporting, has exceeded 100,000, thereport says.
“Almost no civilian in Afghanistan has escaped being personally affected insome way by the ongoing violence,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, theSecretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of theUN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
“It is absolutely imperative for all parties to seize the moment to stopthe fighting, as peace is long overdue; civilian lives must be protectedand efforts for peace are underway.”
Read Top Stories
The figures outlined in the new report – released jointly by UNAMA and theUN Human Rights Office – “represent a five percent decrease over theprevious year, mainly due to a decrease in civilian casualties caused byDaesh.”
“Civilian casualties caused by the other parties increased, particularly bythe Taliban (21 percent increase) and the international military forces (18percent increase), mainly due to an increase in improvised explosive deviceattacks and airstrikes,” the report said.
In addition to outlining the civilian casualties documented with a”rigorous methodology” throughout the course of 2019, the report sets outseveral recommendations and reminds the parties that attacks deliberatelytargeting civilians or civilian objects are “serious violations ofinternational humanitarian law that amount to war crimes.”
