2015 civilian injuries in Afghan war worst since 2009

The UN in 2015 recorded its highest number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan, according to a new report on Sunday, with children paying a particularly heavy toll as struggling Afghan forces faced a militant surge.

UNAMA said 2015 witnessed the “highest number of total civilian casualties” recorded by the mission since 2009.

Danielle Bell, director of human rights of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), speaks during a press conference in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, Feb. 14, 2016.

Ground engagements were the leading cause of civilian casualties at 37 percent, followed by roadside bombs at 21 percent and suicide attacks at 17 percent.

One-in-four casualties was a child, while one-in-10 was female, it said, with the UN’s special representative for Afghanistan Nicholas Haysom calling the figures “unacceptable”.

Increasingly desperate fighting between Western-backed government forces and insurgent groups meant more noncombatants are being caught in the crossfire, investigators wrote, pointing to two developments in particular which pushed casualties up.

Local Afghan officials in recent months have been pleading with the central government and USA officials for airstrikes to destroy the confiscated equipment.

Insurgent groups such as the Taliban were blamed for 62 percent of the civilian deaths and injuries, with investigators accusing the rebels of operations that “deliberately or indiscriminately” put civilans at risk.

Since 2009, when the United Nations started recording the deaths and civilian casualties in Afghanistan, 59,000 deaths and injuries have been reported, according to Reuters.

The report also urged the warring sides to spare no efforts to stop harming civilians in the Central Asian country.

Casualties attributed to pro-government security forces jumped 28 percent compared to 2014. Investigators accused insurgents of increasingly using tactics that “deliberately or indiscriminately” caused harm to civilians.

The annual Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict report is based on on-site investigations where possible.