UN reports stark rise in number of Afghan civilian casualties in 2015
Source: The Guardian
More Afghan civilians were killed or injured in 2015 than any other year on record, the UN has said in a report.
11,002 casualties is the highest toll since the UN began documenting in 2009, and constitutes a 4% jump from the previous year, following a worrying pattern: as the international military presence in Afghanistan diminishes, more civilians are caught in the crossfire or directly targeted.
The Afghan government’s struggle to stem the insurgency has forced Barack Obama to backtrack on plans to withdraw all American troops before his presidency ends. As reported earlier by the Guardian, the US is planning to boost Afghan forces in Helmand with several hundred Americans in late February.
However, it is still the Afghan army and police who do most of the fighting against the Taliban. Consequently, they also injure and kill a growing number of civilians.
Out of the 3,545 civilians killed and 7,457 injured last year, the UN’s report on Sunday attributed 62% to anti-government groups such as the Taliban, down from 72% in 2014. In comparison, 14% were attributed to Afghan security forces, up from 12%. An increasing proportion of casualties, 17%, could not be attributed to any side.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/14/un-reports-stark-rise-in-number-of-afghan-civilian-casualties-in-2015
