[The spike comes as both the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan military have stepped up pressure in recent month. Before President Trump scuttled the talks last month, both sides were fighting to gain leverage ahead of a deal.]
By Susannah George
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Afghan
security officials inspect the scene of a bomb blast in Jalalabad, Afghanistan,
on
Oct. 7. At least 10 civilians were killed in the explosion.
(Ghulamullah
Habibi/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
|
KABUL
— More civilians have been
killed and injured in Afghanistan during the last three months than during any
other three-month period in the past decade, according to a United Nations
report released Thursday. The spike in civilian deaths and injuries comes as
violence has worsened after talks to end the 18-year war gained steam and
suddenly collapsed.
Between July and September, 1,174 civilians
were killed and 3,139 were wounded. Those figures bring the total number of
civilian casualties this year to more than 8,000, according to counts by the
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Last quarter 785 civilians
were killed and 1,254 were wounded, according to the United Nations.
The spike comes as both the Taliban and the
U.S.-backed Afghan military have stepped up pressure in recent month. Before
President Trump scuttled the talks last month, both sides were fighting to gain
leverage ahead of a deal.
Overall, the United Nations blamed Taliban
attacks for the most civilian casualties this year due to an increased use of
suicide bombs and other explosives. Such attacks have killed 647 and wounded
2,796 since January.
That marks a shift since July, when the
United Nations reported that during the first half of 2019 Afghan government
forces and their American-led allies were responsible for more civilian deaths
than the Taliban. Afghan and American airstrikes and search operations continue
to be deadly for civilians: They have killed 784 and wounded 377 this year.
The United States has significantly ramped up
its air campaign against the Taliban and Islamic State in Afghanistan. In
September, U.S. aircraft dropped more munitions on Afghanistan than in any
other month since October 2010. U.S. Air Forces Central Command said American
planes released 948 munitions on Afghanistan, the figure does not include
airstrikes by the Afghan air force.
The Afghan presidential elections on Sept. 28
were also associated with a spike in violence. The United Nations released a
separate report earlier this week that said election-related violence killed 85
civilians and wounded 373.
The bulk of the casualties were caused by
Taliban operations, including indirect fire attacks and improvised explosives,
that had “indiscriminate effects” in civilian areas. The Taliban views the vote
as illegitimate and pledged to use violence to disrupt it.
The U.N. Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, called the violence
“completely unacceptable.”
The conflict in Afghanistan has resulted in
steady, record levels of violence since 2014 when American forces began drawing
down from the country. The United Nations only began recording civilian deaths
in 2009 as the war became more violent.
During the first half of the year, the United
Nations had reported a slight drop in civilian casualties caused by violence.
That reduction was largely due to the decreased use of suicide bombs and other
explosives by Taliban and other militant groups.
Afghan government forces backed by the United
States have retaken a handful of districts from the Taliban in recent months.
But the gains have come at a high cost to civilians and pro-government
fighters.
Afghan officials do not release figures on
their military casualties, but last year President Ashraf Ghani said last year
that 40,000 members of the Afghan forces had been killed since he took office
in 2014, and his national security adviser said earlier this year that about 50
troops were killed daily.
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