CASUALTIES EXCEED 848 IN KUNDUZ STRIFE
KABUL: At least 848 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded following a Taliban attack on the northern city of Kunduz in September, according to a UN report that detailed the grim conditions endured by residents during two weeks of fighting.
The 289 dead and 559 injured included 42 killed and 37 injured in a US air strike on a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) said.
It said the figures were likely to rise as more information comes out, noting that unstable security meant its officials couldn’t conduct detailed probes in Kunduz.
Apart from the losses in the air strike on Oct 3, it said most casualties had been caused from small arms fire or explosives during heavy fighting in residential areas.
“In most of these cases, Unama could not attribute the casualties to a specific party to the conflict,” it said, although it also detailed reports of deliberate killings by the Taliban of civilians including people associated with the government.
It also joined calls for an independent investigation into the attack on the hospital, which it said may amount to a war crime if it were proved to be deliberate.
About 150,000 people were trapped in the city by the most prolonged period of urban fighting in Afghanistan since the US-led attack on the Taliban in 2001.