The first three months of 2019 have continued to be bloody in Afghanistan, thanks to the war started there by Bush Jr. after 9/11. A UN report makes an even more damning announcement about those killed: more civilians are killed by Afghan and international forces than are killed by the Taliban and other armed groups.
The findings brought forth by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was released this past Wednesday. In it, they report 305 civilians were killed by pro-government forces between January and March of this year. This accounts for 52.5% of all death in that time period.
The only upside to all of this, is that these first three months of 2019 are a 23% reduction compared to last year:
"There was a 23 percent decrease in overall civilian casualties as compared to the same period last year and is the lowest for a first quarter since 2013."
The reduced amount of people killed is being attributed to less IED attacks, which may be the result of a harsher winter. Other explanation are offered, but the report isn't certain if measures to protect civilians by the armed groups is the reason:
"It is unclear whether the decrease in civilian casualties was influenced by any measures taken by parties to the conflict to better protect civilians, or by the ongoing talks between parties to the conflict."
I would think that the recent talks between groups to cease fire would have helped that happen, and caring about not harming civilians would also have an impact.
Casualties caused by the pro-governments forces were up 39% compared to the same period last year, with 305 deaths and 303 injuries. It looks like the "terrorists" are killing less civilians, and the government are killing more. The non-governmental armed groups have killed 227 civilians and injured 736.
The UN report states the causalities are the result of special forces who "appear to act with impunity outside of the governmental chain of command". These take the form of search operations, especially those carried out by by Afghan intelligence service special forces, which are supported by international troops.
Other causes include air operations with 140 deaths, and ground engagements. US forces spokesman in Afghanistan Colonel Dave Butler countered the report by saying:
"We reserve the right of self defense of our forces as well as the Afghan Security Forces The best way to end the suffering of non-combatants is to end the fighting through an agreed-upon reduction in violence on all sides."
The UN reports at least 32,000 civilians killed and 60,000 injured in Afghanistan in the past 10 years as civilians are caught in the middle of a war between the deposed Taliban and the Wester-backed government forces. That number seems low. The bloodbath hasn't lessened as the years have gone by. Last year was apparently the deadliest yet, at least according to statistics that the UN only started to compile as of 2009.
Tragedies are abound across the nation. One man, Masih Rahman, had a family of 12 killed by an air strike last September. His wife, 4 daughters, 3 sons and 4 nephews were all killed when the house was flattened with bombs. Rahman said:
"It's not just my family, there are dozens of families just like mine who have been lost in bombings".
Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission is reviewing his case as he seeks redress from the UN. The commissions also released a report this week, stating 11,212 civilians have been hurt or wounded in the past year. Their reports puts the number of dead Afghan civilians in the past decade at 75,316.
One thing seems clear, unless the Afghan and international forces stop their bombings, more Afghan civilians will continue to suffer greatly. Imagine losing your whole family to bombings from the government. No wonder many turn to fight against them and get branded "terrorists". The government terrorists are covered in an illusion of "heroism" as people side with governments that commit such atrocities. One has to wonder who the real terrorists are...
References:
- QUARTERLY REPORT ON THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS IN ARMED CONFLICT
- UN: Pro-government forces kill more Afghans than armed groups
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
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Posted from KURE