Culture minister tours Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Saud Abdulhamid makes history as first Saudi player in Serie A    Saudi Cabinet to hold special budget session on Tuesday    King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Irish PM apologizes for walking away from care worker    Several dead as Storm Bert wreaks havoc across Britain    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Ukraine losing ground in Russia's Kursk region, says military source    Hezbollah fires rocket barrages into Israel after deadly Beirut strikes    Al Ittihad claims top spot in Saudi Pro League after victory over Al Fateh    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Saudi Arabia joins international partnership initiative to boost hydrogen economy    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Saudi Arabia allows licensed flour milling companies to export flour    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



UN reports spike in Afghan civilian casualties
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 01 - 08 - 2013

KABUL — The United Nations said on Wednesday that civilian casualties in Afghanistan had dramatically increased by 23 percent in the first six months of the year and blamed the insurgency for the vast majority of the dead and wounded.
In its mid-year report on civilian casualties, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan found that homemade bombs and mines usually placed on or near roads, were the leading cause of deaths and wounds.
But it also noted a worrying new increase in those casualties caused by ground engagements between Afghan security forces and insurgents seeking to regain lost territory — especially in their former heartlands in the east and south of the country.
Insurgents have stepped up the tempo of their attacks in areas where foreign troops have withdrawn, or are in the process of drawing down after handing over the lead for security to Afghan security forces in mid-June.
The majority of foreign forces are to leave this year and completely pull out at the end of 2014. Plans by the United States and its allies to retain some troops after that date have not yet been set, pending the signature of a delayed security agreement between Afghanistan and the United States.
Georgette Gagnon, the head of human rights for UNAMA, said the organization documented 1,319 civilian deaths and 2,533 wounded from January to June.
“You are getting increases in contested areas,” Gagnon said of the ground engagements, which caused 25 percent of all civilian casualties after roadside bombs. “The stepped-up transition of security responsibilities from international forces to Afghan forces and the closure of international forces' military bases was met with increased attacks.”
She also said there was a sharp rise in the number of attacks against civilians working for the government and judiciary, and against civilian administration buildings such as courts.
“This armed conflict has brought increased harm and suffering in the first six months of the year,” Gagnon said of the war, which has lasted nearly 12 years.
UNAMA attributed 74 percent of the civilian casualties to the insurgency, nine percent to the Afghan security forces and US-led international military coalition, and 12 percent to ground engagements between pro-government forces and insurgents. It said the remainder was either unattributed or caused by old explosives.
The Taliban immediately rejected the report as a fabrication. They also vowed to keep targeting government employees and other Afghan civilians they consider linked to the US-led coalition or the administration of President Hamid Karzai, despite a warning from the United Nations that such killings violate international law.
“As we have said earlier, UNAMA prepares its report on the directions and recommendations of the American embassy inside Kabul, whose sole aim is to mislead the people's mentality against (the) Mujahedin. We strongly reject this unfounded report,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
He said the Taliban, which he referred to as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the group was known when it ruled the country, did not have enough time to fully analyze the report. Mujahid said they had only received it from UNAMA a few hours ahead of its release.
He also disputed UNAMA's description of government workers as civilians. The Taliban has said it will target anyone working for the government or the US-led International Security Assistance Force as a legitimate target.
UNAMA said casualties from targeted attacks against civilians working for the government rose by 76 percent. They included 114 civilians killed and 324 wounded from 103 such attacks — including four against court houses around the country that accounted for the majority of the victims.
ISAF, which was credited with reducing the number casualties caused by airstrikes since the last count, said it was taking steps to further reduce civilian casualties.
The report also found that ISAF was increasingly using drones in its airstrikes. It said that drones were responsible for at least one third of the 49 people killed and 41 wounded in airstrikes, but noted that such actions were now responsible for only two percent of all casualties.
It added that the decline was also due to fewer airstrikes being needed because of the steady withdrawal of foreign forces. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.