(AJE)
‘Unprecedented’ Afghan civilian casualties in July-September 2019
UN says a record 4,313 civilians have been wounded or killed in Afghanistan during the third quarter of the year
An «unprecedented» number of civilians were killed or wounded in Afghanistan from July to September this year, the United Nations has said in a new report, calling the violence «totally unacceptable».
The report, released on Thursday, said «anti-government elements» were responsible for more casualties for the first time this year than US and pro-government forces.
The figures – 1,174 deaths and 3,139 wounded from July 1 until September 30 – represent a 42 percent increase over the same period last year. Some 41 percent of the casualties were women and children.
That made it the bloodiest period in the world’s longest-running war since the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) began compiling figures in 2009.
The latest figures brought the total of casualties for the first nine months of 2019 to over 8,000, with the majority caused by suicide attacks or improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Anti-government fighters were responsible for 62 percent of all casualties this year, though c