Civilian injuries in 2015 the worst since 2009 in Afghan war
KABUL — Civilian injuries in Afghanistan’s long war with the Taliban rose last year, with women and children again bearing the brunt of the violence, the United Nations said in a report on Sunday.
A total of 3,545 civilians were killed in 2015 as a result of the war, the U.N. report said, with another 7,457 wounded.
The figures mark a four-per-cent drop in civilian deaths, but a nine-per-cent rise in civilian injuries, compared to 2014.
The U.N.’s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 2015 had the “highest number of total civilian casualties recorded by UNAMA since 2009.”
It also said that 10 per cent of civilian casualties were women, up 37 per cent from the year before. It says 25 per cent were children, up 14 per cent.
“The most important finding in the report is that 11,002 Afghans — civilians, non-combatants — have died or been injured in 2015; this figure surpasses by 4 per cent the same figure for 2014,” said UNAMA head Nicholas Haysom.
“The truth is the figures in themselves are awful — over 11,000 Afghans died or were injured last year as a result of this conflict,” he said.
The report found that most of the dead and injured were caught in crossfire.
The annual report, titled Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, is based on on-site investigations where possible.
It attributed 62 per cent of all civilian casualties to antigovernment elements, which includes the Taliban who have been fighting to overthrow the Kabul government for 15 years.
Another 17 per cent were blamed on progovernment forces and 2 per cent on international military forces. The U.S.-NATO combat mission ended in 2014, with troops reduced to around 13,000. While they officially have a “train, advice, assist” mandate, the U.S. forces regularly conduct air strikes to back up Afghan forces, and are empowered for “force protection,” which can see them engage in self-defensive combat.
It added that improvised explosive devices, such as roadside bombs, caused 713 deaths and wounded 1,655 people. “While this represents a 20-per cent decrease it is still the second leading cause of civilian casualties in Afghanistan,” it said.
Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said the UNAMA report did not comprehensively cover violent incidents across the whole country, covering instead “high-conflict areas in 12 provinces.”
In a statement, Abdullah said the Afghan government’s own data showed attacks in more than 24 of the country’s 34 provinces which were not included in the UNAMA report.
He said that unattributed civilian casualties — which UNAMA puts at 17 per cent — should mostly be blamed on the Taliban. “UNAMA’s decision to not attribute such a large number of civilian deaths misrepresents reality and could help the Taliban and other terrorist groups avoid accountability and escape justice,” his statement said.