Afghan and international security forces in Afghanistan have killed more civilians in the first quarter of 2019 than the Taliban and other terrorist organisations, the UN said in a report on Wednesday.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said that pro-government forces were responsible for 305 deaths between Jan. 1 and March 31, while insurgents including the Taliban and Islamic State killed 227.
Aerial operations by both Afghan and U.S. forces caused 145 deaths and 83 injuries, accounting for 13 per cent of the total casualties.
In the same quarter of 2018 airstrikes caused 67 deaths and 75 injuries.
Overall, 581 civilians were killed and 1,192 others were wounded in the first quarter of the year, representing a 23-per-cent decrease in overall casualties from the same period in 2018.
The decrease was due to a significant 76 per cent decrease in casualties from suicide attacks, which the report suggested could be due to harsh winter conditions.
“It was not clear whether measures taken by parties to the conflict or talks between them to end the conflict had had any effect,’’ it added.
Insurgents were still responsible for the majority of overall casualties, killing or injuring a total of 963 people, while pro-government forces caused a total of 608 casualties.
dpa/NAN
