For the first time in 6 years, casualty figures in
Afghanistan have declined. According to the UN Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA), there has been a 12% decrease in civilian casualties with
a slight increase in injuries.
This is due to a harsh winter which saw fewer suicide bomb
attacks, fighting on the ground and air operations. However, this is rather misleading and does
not mean that threats against Afghan men, women and children have diminished.
Civilians continue to face threats, intimidation and interference from armed
militant groups.
Jan Kubis, the UN special representative in Afghanistan, claimed
that seeing the recent decrease in casualty numbers granted temporary relief
but the “human cost of the conflict remains unacceptable.” He further added that it is mainly women and
children who continue to suffer the most from the effects of armed conflict
while engaging in everyday activities with an increase of 20% in those killed
and injured.
In 2012, 81% of civilian casualties were a result of
improvised explosive devices laid by insurgents and 8% from operations by
pro-government forces. The report also states that targeted killings by
militants increased by 108%.
Although the number of Afghans killed by NATO-led forces dropped
by 40%, a recent UN report stated that hundreds of Afghan
children have been killed by US air strikes over the last 4 years. The numbers
especially doubled between 2010-2011 due to the “lack of precautionary measures
and use of indiscriminate force.” This led President Hamid Karzai to ban the
Afghan military from requesting aerial support from NATO-led forces.
The recent figures generated mixed feelings among the
Afghans who were more concerned about security with some even claiming that the
UN was biased in its research. For now, it seems that the Taliban have shifted
their focus to targeting foreign troops.
To date 14, 728 Afghans have lost
their lives.
