The number of civilians killed in the Afghan conflict rose 25 percent in the first six months of the year, with insurgents responsible for the spike, the UN said in a report yesterday.
The report comes after a strong push by NATO forces to reduce civilian casualties and shows success in doing so on the part of the government-allied forces, but also serves as a reminder that the war is getting ever-more violent despite these efforts.
“The human cost of this conflict is unfortunately rising,” Staffan De Mistura, the top UN envoy in Afghanistan, said about the report released in Kabul.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“We are worried. We are concerned. We are very concerned about the future because the human cost is being paid too heavily by civilians. This report is a wake-up call,” he said.
The UN report said 1,271 Afghans died and 1,997 were injured — mostly from bombings — in the first six months of the year. Insurgents were responsible for 72 percent of the deaths — up from 58 percent last year, it said.
As the UN held its briefing in Kabul, three civilians were killed when their car struck a roadside bomb just outside Ghazni city in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.
De Mistura said militants were using larger and more sophisticated explosive devices.
“If they want to be part of a future Afghanistan, they cannot do so over the bodies of so many civilians,” de Mistura said.
De Mistura said the insurgent-caused jump in civilian deaths does not dissuade the UN from seeking a negotiated peace with the Taliban, but called on insurgent groups to consider whether they are not hurting their own long-term goals.
“One day, when unavoidably there will be a discussion about the future of the country, will you want to come to that table with thousands of Afghans, civilians, killed along the road?” he said.
Deaths from US, NATO and other pro-government forces fell in the first six months this year. The report said that 223, or 18 percent, of the Afghan deaths were due to pro-government forces.
That was down from 310 deaths, or 31 percent, during the first six months of last year, primarily because of a decrease in air strikes, the report said.
Air attacks were the largest single cause of civilian deaths by pro-government forces, 31 percent.
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