It has emerged that the number of Afghan civilians killed during violence caused by US-led occupation has soared nearly 17%.
The report has noted that from January 1 to June 30, 2014, UNAMA documented 4,853 civilian casualties, up 24% over the same period in 2013.
“Improvised explosive devices used by Anti-Government Elements, the second leading cause of civilian casualties in 2014, were behind 1,463 civilian casualties, up seven per cent from 2013 and the highest number of civilian casualties from this tactic recorded in a six month period since 2009,” the report said.
Today UN mission human rights unit director Georgette Gagnon said:
“Ground engagements or ground fighting among parties to the conflict has now become the leading cause of civilian causalities.
The fight is increasingly taking place in communities, public places and near the homes of ordinary Afghans, with death and injury to women and children in a continued disturbing upward spiral.”
According to Outlook India the International Crisis Group (ICG) said that the troop withdrawal had coincided with renewed tribal feuds, government forces fighting each other and mistreatment of locals by Afghan soldiers and police.
The ICG concluded that “the overall trend is one of escalating violence and insurgent attacks” in Afghanistan, with insurgents now able to mass in larger numbers and trying to capture rural territory and district administration centres.
The Morning Star reports that in all, 1,564 civilians were killed from January to June, compared with 1,342 in the first six months of 2013. That included a 21 per cent jump in the death toll for children, with 295 killed so far this year compared with 243 in the same period the previous year.