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Watchdog says Afghanistan witnessed 80 pct increase in civilian casualties

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 03 Aug 2021, 01:11 pm Print

Watchdog says Afghanistan witnessed 80 pct increase in civilian casualties Afghanistan

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Kabul: The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission recently released its report where it said 1,677 civilians were killed and 3,644 more were wounded in the first six months of this year, media reports said.

The report showed there has been an 80 percent rise in civil casualties as compared to the same period in 2020.

The watchdog says 1,594 security incidents occurred during this period, reports Tolo News.

According to the report, of those killed, 373 were children. Also, 1,083 of those wounded are children, reports the news portal.

The report says the Taliban is responsible for 56% of the casualties (917 killed, and 2,061 injured), pro-government forces for 15% (229 killed, 565 injured), Daesh 7% (104 killed, 239 killed), and unknown perpetrators 22% (425 civilians killed and 765 civilians injured).

  Civilian casualties in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 reached record levels, including a particularly sharp increase in killings and injuries since May when international military forces began their withdrawal and the fighting intensified following the Taliban’s offensive.

In a new report issued today, the United Nations warns that without a significant de-escalation in violence Afghanistan is on course for 2021 to witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since UNAMA records began.

UNAMA’s Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Midyear Update 2021 documents 5,183 civilian casualties (1,659 killed and 3,524 injured), a 47 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2020, read the UNAMA website.