“For the first time since the United Nations began documenting civilian casualties in Afghanistan a decade ago, more civilians are being killed by Afghan government and American forces than by the Taliban and other insurgents, according to a report on Wednesday.”
“Civilian deaths attributed to pro-government forces rose in the first quarter of this year even as overall civilian casualties dropped to their lowest level in that period since 2013.”
“The agency reported 581 civilians killed and 1,192 wounded during the first quarter, a 23 percent decrease in overall casualties compared with the same period in 2018.”
“Aerial operations were the third-highest cause of civilian casualties, killing 145 civilians and wounding 83 during the quarter — a 41 percent increase for those type of casualties compared with the same quarter in 2018. The report attributed almost all of those casualties to American airstrikes.”
“Ground engagements were the single biggest cause of all civilian casualties, accounting for about a third of the total. A single mortar attack by the Islamic State last month in Kabul was responsible for about a fifth of all first-quarter civilian casualties from ground engagements, the report said.”
“The second leading cause of civilian casualties was improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. In a reversal from previous reporting periods, the majority of IED casualties were caused by non-suicide IEDs rather than those detonated by a suicide bomber, the report said.”
“Other leading causes of civilian casualties were targeted killings (9 percent of the total), explosive remnants of war such as land mines or unexploded rockets (7 percent) and search operations by pro-government forces (6 percent).”
“The United Nations reported in February that 2018 was the single deadliest year for Afghan civilians since the agency began documenting casualties in 2009. Almost 4,000 civilians died that year, including a record number of children. The 2018 report attributed 63 percent of civilian casualties to insurgent groups and 24 percent to pro-government forces.”
“The first-quarter drop in overall civilian casualties came after reports of initial progress at the latest round of peace talks in Qatar last month. Under a tentative framework reached by American and Taliban negotiators, the American military would withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a pledge by the Taliban not to allow terrorists to operate from Afghan soil.”
“About 14,000 American troops are currently in Afghanistan. About half are regular troops who train Afghan security forces, while American Special Operations forces work with Afghan commandos to conduct counterterrorism raids against Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.”
Read more: U.S. and Afghan Forces Killed More Civilians Than Taliban Did, Report Finds (archived)
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