Record civilian casualties in Afghanistan: UN
December 20, 2014
The number of civilians killed and injured in Afghanistan this year was the highest ever recorded by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the organization said in its annual report on Saturday.
Georgette Gagnon, the human rights director of UNAMA, announced at a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday that 3,188 civilians had been killed in the first 11 months of 2014 and 6,429 were injured. The total number of Afghans killed and injured could exceed 10,000 in 2014 for the first time ever, she said.
Compared with 2013, the year 2014 also saw a 33 percent increase in the number of children that died and a 14 percent rise in that of women.
"I can report that recently we've seen a bit of change in their targeting - targeting of more military targets, lawful targets, but still using tactics or means which are disproportionate or indiscriminate and end up killing and injuring civilians," Gagnon said, referring to Taliban insurgents who are waging war on the government.
The mission first began recording civilian casualties in 2008.
'Tragic benchmark'
Nicholas Haysom, the top UN envoy in Afghanistan, also underlined the plight of civilians amid the country's Taliban insurgency.
"One of the measurements of the security situation has been civilian casualties…a particularly tragic and very prominent part, even benchmark, of the horror of the violence that ordinary Afghans face," Haysom said, adding that the UNAMA's representatives had met with Taliban chiefs in Doha and shared casualty reports.
" We will continue to share with them our reports as they become available and request them to engage with us in the interest of reducing civilian casualties," Haysom added.
More than 4,500 Afghan soldiers have also died as US-led NATO troops prepare to withdraw after 13 years of fighting. Around 12,500 soldiers from NATO countries will stay back to train and support Afghan troops.
mg/tj (AFP, AP, dpa)