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UNAMA – United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan - http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=12254&ctl=Details&mid=15756&ItemID=38918&language=en-US
Afghanistan – UN Reports Rise in Women & Children Casualties, Hurt or Killed, in Afghan War
“Compared to the same period last year, the number of women
casualties rose by 23% and children 13%.”
Direct Link to Full 107-Page
2015 Report:
By Lynne O’Donnell – August 5, 2015
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations said a
growing number of women and children are getting hurt or killed in
Afghanistan's war against the Taliban and other insurgents.
The total number of casualties in the almost 14-year conflict
was up 1 percent in the first half of this year, compared to the same period
last year, a new U.N. report said. However, the number of women casualties
rose by 23 percent and children 13 percent.
Danielle Bell, director of the Human Rights Unit at the
U.N.'s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, blamed ground fighting for the
alarming rise in casualties. UNAMA attributed 70 percent of civilian casualties
to insurgent forces.
She said the U.N. was not able to verify whether the
Taliban used civilians as human shields, but that a large number of casualties
caused by pro-government troops stemmed from exchange of fire in residential
neighborhoods.
Afghanistan's security forces have been fighting the
Taliban alone since U.S. and NATO forces ended their combat mission last year.
The Taliban have sought to take advantage by escalating their attacks,
spreading their footprint from the south and east to the north, and joining
forces with other insurgent groups.
Afghan officials have said other insurgent groups, as well
as the Islamic State group — which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq and
has a small but growing presence in Afghanistan — have joined the
anti-government war.
The UNAMA report recorded 4,921 civilian deaths and
injuries in the first half of this year.
Heather Barr, a senior researcher on Afghanistan with New
York-based Human Rights Watch, echoed UNAMA's call for all parties in the
Afghanistan conflict to avoid harming civilians.
The Afghan government "has to take responsibility
for civilian casualties — it has to educate its forces about what international
law is on the protection of civilians and if there are deaths caused by
government forces, they must be investigated," Barr said.
Barr noted that the UNAMA reports says civilian
casualties caused by government forces are up 60 percent compared to the same
period in 2014.
"There seems to be no willingness by the government
to take seriously these problems," Barr said. "As there are fewer and
fewer international forces to watch and constrain what the Afghan security
forces are doing, there is less constraint than before, and no reason to
believe things will improve with the continuing drawdown."
Nicholas Haysom, the U.N.'s special representative for
Afghanistan, said he hoped the recent confirmation that the Taliban's leader,
Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been dead for more than two years "would at
least open the door to a proper peace process." Formal peace talks with
the Afghan government have been postponed indefinitely since the announcement
by the Afghan government last week. A leadership crisis within the Taliban has
yet to be resolved.
In a statement, the Taliban rejected the U.N. report's
findings as neither impartial nor "based on reality," saying the
figures "ignored the brutal bombardment and related operations from
foreign troops." It also blamed the high civilian toll on pro-government
militia groups — widely criticized for being heavy-handed and corrupt — and
unilateral actions taken by powerful warlords.
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Subject: Afghanistan - Civilian Casualties from Conflict Continue to
Increase at Unprecedented Levels - Women & Children
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http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=50553#.VSwcV3kfrmI
UNAMA-UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s Georgette Gagnon pointed out that women and child casualties have surpassed the unprecedented levels recorded in 2014. Women casualties increased 15 per cent compared to the first three months of 2014. Conflict-related violence killed 55 women and injured 117 and 123 children and injured 307. “The consequences of the conflict go far beyond the horrific loss of life and injury to civilians. Conflict-related violence also devastates Afghan families through displacement, loss of livelihood, destruction of homes and other losses,” she said.
AFGHANISTAN – CIVILIAN CASUALTIES FROM CONFLICT INCREASE
IN 2014 & FIRST 3 MONTHS 2015 – WOMEN & CHILDREN
Women and children on their way to a winter-time wedding
ceremony in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Photo: UNAMA/Aurora V. Alambra (file)
12
April 2015 – In the first three months of 2015, civilian casualties from ground
engagements rose by eight per cent compared to the same period last year,
according to the latest figures released today by the United Nations with
warning that the toll is likely to rise in the coming summer months.
The
numbers were released today by the UN Assistance Mission
in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which found that ground fighting between
Pro-Government Forces and Anti-Government Elements caused 521 civilian
casualties – that is 136 civilians killed and 385 injured.
Most
of the casualties are caused by 'Anti-Government Elements' (73 per cent), with
'Pro-Government Forces' responsible for just under a quarter (14 per cent).
Following the release of the latest figures, UN officials in the country called
on all parties but especially the Taliban to “cease attacks against people who
are not taking a direct part in hostilities.”
“The
parties in particular should refrain from using mortars and rockets in any
areas populated by civilians,” Nicholas Haysom, the Secretary-General's Special
Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, urged in a statement to the
press.
Between
1 January and 31 March, UNAMA documented 266 civilian casualties (62 deaths and
204 injured) from mortars and rockets, up 43 per cent from the same period last
year and accounting for half of civilian casualties from ground engagements.
Calling
the spike in casualties a “seasonal resumption of higher levels of
conflict-related violence,” Mr. Haysom, along with his colleagues at the
Mission, expressed concern over the impact on civilians of further
conflict-related operations between Government and Anti-Government forces in
the next several months.
“With
all signs pointing to increased ground conflict in the coming months, with
devastating consequences for civilians, parties must act urgently on the
commitments they've made to prevent harm to civilians, especially women and
children,” Georgette Gagnon, Director of Human Rights for UNAMA, said today.
Ms.
Gagnon also pointed out that women and child casualties have surpassed the
unprecedented levels recorded in 2014. Women casualties increased 15 per cent
compared to the first three months of 2014. Conflict-related violence killed 55
women and injured 117 and 123 children and injured 307.
“The
consequences of the conflict go far beyond the horrific loss of life and injury
to civilians. Conflict-related violence also devastates Afghan families through
displacement, loss of livelihood, destruction of homes and other losses,” she
said.
After
ground engagements, Improvised Explosive Devices or IEDs were the second
leading cause of civilian casualties in the first quarter of 2015, with 155
deaths and 275 injured. Targeted killings, the third cause, increased by 34 per
cent in the first three months of 2015, with UNAMA documenting 309 civilian
casualties.
The
Taliban has claimed responsibility for 48 incidents of targeted killings,
including deliberate killings of tribal elders, judges, prosecutors and
civilian Government workers.
“The
UN notes that direct attacks on civilians are strictly prohibited under
international law which binds all parties to the conflict and may amount to war
crimes,” said Ms. Gagnon.
Casualties
caused by suicide attacks remained on par with 2014 levels with 55 deaths and
213 injuries. Civilian casualties from aerial operations by international
military forces declined 42 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2014,
with seven civilian deaths and eight injuries.
Total
civilian deaths and injuries in the first quarter of 2015 followed the record
high levels of 2014. Between 1 January and 31 March, UNAMA documented 655
deaths and 1,155 injuries.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Subject: Afghanistan - Civilian Casualties Increase 22% in 2014 - Women
& Children - Widows Suffer Poverty +
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UNAMA – United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
“The report found
that women and children were particularly hard hit by the armed conflict and
increased ground engagements in 2014. UNAMA documented a 40 per cent increase
in children casualties with 2,474 children casualties (714 killed and 1,760
injured) compared to 2013. Women casualties increased by 21 per cent with 298
women killed and 611 injured.”
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