Kabul (BNA) There has been an increase in civilians killed and injured in Afghanistan following the start of peace talks in September, UNAMA said Tuesday.
According to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s (UNAMA) latest report, despite the rise in casualties since September the overall numbers for 2020 were down due to lower civilian casualty rates prior to the start of talks.
The Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Annual Report 2020 documents the “appalling level of harm inflicted on civilians and traces the disturbing spike in violence against them in the last quarter of the year”, the report read.
“2020 could have been the year of peace in Afghanistan. Instead, thousands of Afghan civilians perished due to the conflict,” said Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA.
“This important report has the overriding objective of providing the parties responsible with the facts, and recommendations, so they take immediate and concrete steps to protect civilians. I urge them not to squander a single day in taking the urgent steps to avoid more suffering.” “Ultimately, the best way to protect civilians is to establish a humanitarian ceasefire,” said Lyons.
“Parties refusing to consider a ceasefire must recognize the devastating consequences of such a posture on the lives of Afghan civilians.”
For a seventh consecutive year, UNAMA documented more than 3,000 civilians killed in a single year, with Afghanistan remaining among the deadliest places in the world to be a civilian.
A distressing feature of the conflict remains the shocking and disproportionate impact on Afghan women and children. They make up 43 percent of all civilian casualties: child casualties numbered 2,619 (30 percent) and women 1,146 (13 percent).
More women were killed in the conflict in 2020 than any year since UNAMA began systematic documentation in 2009. In total 1,150 women and children were killed (390 women and 760 children).
The overall number of civilian casualties in 2020 of 8,820 (3,035 killed and 5,785 injured) fell below 10,000 for the first time since 2013 and was 15 percent down on 2019.
While the reduced numbers are welcome, documentation shows that the lower levels of overall harm were partially offset by increases from certain tactics, as well as from an uncharacteristic increase in civilian harm in the last quarter of the year, the report read.
For the first time since it began systematic documentation in 2009, UNAMA documented an increase in the number of civilian casualties recorded in the fourth quarter compared with the third quarter. In addition, this period marked a 45 percent increase in civilian casualties in comparison to the same three months in 2019, especially from the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and targeted killings.
In October, civilian casualties were the highest of any month in 2020, and the following month UNAMA documented the highest number of civilian casualties of any November since records began in 2009.
Alongside the overall increase in violence, as the year ended, the population was confronted with a spate of targeted killings, referred to by many as “assassinations”, including civilians from the media, civil society, judiciary and the civilian government administration, as well as family members of combatants.
The report also reminds the parties that attacks deliberately targeting civilians or civilian objects are serious violations of international humanitarian law that may amount to war crimes.
Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) in 2020 caused the majority of civilian casualties (62 percent), totaling 5,459 casualties – 1,885 killed and 3,574 injured with the Taliban responsible for most of these casualties (45 percent of the total) and Islamic State in the Levant-Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP) responsible for 8 percent.
Pro-Government Forces (PGF) caused a quarter of all civilian casualties, totaling 2,231 (841 killed and 1,390 injured), a decrease of 24 percent from 2019, with the Afghan national security forces causing most of these (22 percent of the total).
According to the report, indiscriminate attacks, such as the use of pressure-plate IEDs by the Taliban also remain of concern. “These devices are victim-activated and cannot be directed towards a specific target. Similarly, concerns remain about vehicle borne IEDs that cause many civilian casualties due to the large explosive power used, even if they are not directed against civilians or civilian objects.
