Saturday February 21, 2015
Kabul (BNA) The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) [official website] released its annual report on the “Protection of civilians in armed conflict” on Wednesday, which indicated a 22 percent increase in civilian causalities in 2014.
The marked increase represents the deadliest year in Afghanistan since record keeping began in 2009. UNAMA documented 10,548 civilian casualties in 2014, 3,699 of which resulted in civilian deaths.
The increase is attributed to an increase in ground engagements and use of explosive weapons by the opposing parties.
The report designated anti-government elements as the leading cause of Afghan civilian deaths and injuries.
The report included UNAMA’s observations that ground operations became larger and more frequent in 2014 following the withdrawal of international military forces and combat air support.
The report called on anti-government, government and international forces to make changes to improve the protection of civilians in the future. NATO airstrikes have been also a factor behind civilian casualties. In October 2013 provincial police in eastern Afghanistan reported that at least five civilians were killed in a NATO airstrike. In December NATO formally ended its war in Afghanistan after 13 years of conflict. In September former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on the Afghan government to strengthen human rights efforts in preparation for presidential elections in April 2014, urging the government to give particular attention to the growing rate of civilians casualties.
