Afghanistan war: UN Says More Civilians killed by Allies than Insurgents
The
unprecedented figures for January to June come amid a ferocious US air campaign
against the Taliban.
Some
717 civilians were killed by Afghan and Nato-led forces, compared to 531 by
militants, the UN said.
The
latest data has been revealed as Washington and the Taliban continue
negotiations over US troop withdrawals.
Air
strikes, mostly carried out by American warplanes, killed 363 people, including
89 children, in the first six months of the year, according
to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama).
The
US military has rejected Unama's findings, saying its own collection of
evidence was more accurate and that its forces in Afghanistan "always work
to avoid harm to civilian non-combatants". But it did not give its own
figures for civilian casualties.
It comes after a
report by the UN in April, which reached a similar conclusion for the first
three months of 2019. The latest data shows that this unprecedented trend is
continuing.
Ground engagements
remained the leading cause of civilian casualties overall, accounting for
one-third of the total, followed by improvised explosive bombings and aerial
operations.
However
the UN says that total civilian casualties are down. There were 3,812 deaths
and injuries in the first six months of 2019, the lowest total for the first
half of a year since 2012.
Despite the decrease
in casualties, the toll on civilians remains "shocking and
unacceptable," Unama said. It documented 985 civilian casualties (deaths
and injuries) from insurgent attacks that had deliberately targeted civilians
from 1 January to 30 June.
"Parties
to the conflict may give differing explanations for recent trends, each
designed to justify their own military tactics," said Richard Bennett,
Unama's head of human rights.
"The
fact remains that only a determined effort to avoid civilian harm, not just by
abiding by international humanitarian law but also by reducing the intensity of
the fighting, will decrease the suffering of civilian Afghans," he added.
Patricia Gossman,
associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said civilians were paying a
"terrible price" as a result of air strikes and night raids that
appeared meant to pressure the Taliban in negotiations.
"Although US
military officers in Kabul repeatedly claim to take civilian casualties
seriously, they do not conduct adequate investigations to determine accurate
numbers or understand targeting errors," she told the BBC, adding that
Afghan government investigations were "even worse".
"The
usual claim - that the Taliban hide among civilians - is not an excuse for
killing and injuring civilians in such numbers, and in any case is no excuse
for what in some cases may amount to war crimes."
The
Afghan government said in a statement that protecting civilians and providing
aid to the injured and displaced was a priority.
Fighting continues
with daily violence around the country.
The
US and the Taliban have been holding peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar,
but the American military is simultaneously carrying out an intense air
campaign against the militant group.
The
Taliban, who were driven from power by US forces in 2001, are refusing to
formally negotiate with the Afghan government until a timetable for the US
withdrawal is agreed upon.
On Monday, US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed that President Donald Trump wants
forces in Afghanistan reduced by the 2020 US presidential election.
The
existence of an unofficial deadline has deepened fears in Kabul that Washington
may rush into a deal with the Taliban in a bid to win over US voters, and
ignore any concerns from its Afghan government partners.
FROM .bbc.com/news/world-asia
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