Civilian casualties in Afghanistan increased by 47 percent in the first half of 2021, the United Nations said in a report released Monday.
A total of 5,183 civilian casualties (1,659 killed and 3,254 injured) were registered in the Afghan conflict in the six months between January and June, a record level, according to the UN report. Nearly half of the civilian casualties happened in the last two months.
According to the report, nearly half of the casualties were women and children. 32 percent were children – 1,682 in total (468 killed and 1,214 injured) and 14 percent were women – 727 in total (219 killed and 508 injured).
Anti-Government Elements (AGEs) were responsible for 64 percent of the total civilian casualties: 39 percent by Taliban, nearly nine per cent by Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP), and 16 percent by undetermined AGEs.
Pro-Government Forces (PGFs) were responsible for 25 percent of civilian casualties: 23 percent by Afghan national security forces, and two percent by pro-Government armed groups or undetermined PGFs.
“I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed of the conflict’s grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians. The report provides a clear warning that unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed,” said Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.
The envoy called on the Taliban and Afghan leaders to “intensify your efforts at the negotiating table, stop the Afghan against Afghan fighting. Protect the Afghan people and give them hope for a better future.”
UNAMA attributed 11 percent of all civilian casualties to crossfire during ground engagements where the exact party responsible could not be determined and other incident types, including unattributable unexploded ordnance/explosive remnants of war.
Civilian casualties attributed to AGEs increased by 63 percent compared with the same period in 2020, while civilian casualties attributed to PGFs increased by 30 percent.
The leading causes of civilian casualties in the first half of 2021 were the extensive use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) by AGEs, ground engagements between parties, targeted killings by AGEs, and air strikes by the Afghan Air Force
The UN report also highlighted that 20 incidents targeted Shi’a/Hazara during the period, resulting in 500 civilian casualties (143 killed and 357 injured).
