Over 500 Civilian Killed during first quarter of 2020 in Afghanistan: UN

UNAMA documented a total of 1,293 civilian casualties during the first three months of 2020 due to the fighting in Afghanistan, urging parties to the conflict to stop violence as soon as possible.

UNAMA documented a total of 1,293 civilian casualties during the first three months of 2020 due to the fighting in Afghanistan, urging parties to the conflict to stop violence as soon as possible.
More than 500 civilians, including more than 150 children, were killed due to the fighting in Afghanistan during the first quarter of 2020, according to a United Nations report released today.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented a total of 1,293 civilian casualties (533 killed and 760 injured) in Afghanistan during the first three months of the year, underscoring the heavy toll the conflict continues to inflict on the civilian population.
The report tracks a disturbing increase in violence during March at a time when it was hoped that the Government of Afghanistan and the Taliban would commence peace negotiations, as well as seek ways to defuse the conflict and prioritize efforts to protect all Afghans from the impact of COVID-19.

“I call on all parties to seize the opportunity offered by the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire to focus collective efforts on fighting a common enemy, the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA. “To safeguard the lives of countless civilians in Afghanistan and to give the nation hope of a better future, it is imperative that violence is stopped with the establishment of a ceasefire and for peace negotiations to commence.”

“Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) continued to be responsible for the majority of civilian casualties – 55 per cent – during the first quarter, causing 710 civilian casualties (282 killed and 428 injured),” read the report.
UNAMA attributed 39 percent to the Taliban, 13 per cent to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant–Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) and the remainder to undetermined AGEs.

The number of civilian deaths attributed to AGEs – particularly the Taliban – increased by 22 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019, mainly due to an increase in targeted killings and summary executions.
Pro-Government Forces (PGFs), meanwhile, were responsible for 32 percent of all civilian casualties.

This comes as Taliban rejected the call for ceasefire reiterated by Afghan president Ashraf Ghani as well as the international organizations and countries in the world.