Over 700 Civilians Lost Lives in first Three Months in Afghanistan: UN
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 2,258 civilian casualties (763 deaths and 1,495 injured) in the first 2018 quarterly report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 2,258 civilian casualties (763 deaths and 1,495 injured) in the first 2018 quarterly report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
“All parties to the conflict in Afghanistan must do everything in their power to protect civilians from harm,” said Ingrid Hayden, the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. “Afghan civilians continue to suffer, caught in the conflict, in ways that are preventable; this must stop now.”
The quarterly report describes civilian casualties from suicide improvised explosive devices (IED) and complex attacks as the leading cause of civilian casualties, a new trend observed in 2018. The Mission found that ground engagements were the second leading cause of civilian casualties, followed by targeted and deliberate killings, explosive remnants of war, and aerial operations.
Additionally, the report notes with concern that the number of civilian casualties attributed to Anti-Government Elements increased. During the first three months of 2018, according to the report, Anti-Government Elements caused 1,500 civilian casualties (511 deaths and 989 injured) a six percent increase from the same period last year.
Consistent with trends observed in 2017, civilian casualties attributed to Pro-Government Forces in the first quarter of 2018 reduced by 13 percent to 407 civilian casualties (176 deaths and 231 injured). The Mission found that Pro-Government Forces caused 18 percent of all civilian casualties in the first three months of 2018.
The Mission attributed 35 percent of civilian casualties from air strikes to international military forces, 35 percent to the Afghan Air Force, and the remainder to unidentified Pro-Government Forces.
Taliban group and the government of Afghanistan have not yet shown any reaction to the report.
The government has always emphasized the priority of the country’s security and defense forces in clashes with armed opposition forces, is to protect the lives of civilians, but the oppositions have always used civilians as defensive shields.
