The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan continued to climb in the first half of 2010, but more than ever, those deaths were caused by insurgents fighting the government and the U.S.-led coalition, the United Nations said in a report released on Tuesday.
In a semi-annual report, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the number of civilians wounded and killed in the conflict had increased by nearly a third, 31 per cent, in the first six months of the year.
Seventy-six per cent of the civilian casualties were attributable to “anti-government elements,” the report said, using U.N. terminology for insurgents. That was an increase of 53 per cent over the same period, January 1-June 30, in 2009, it added.
“This is a wake-up call for us,” the top U.N. official in Kabul, Staffan de Mistura, told a news conference. “By looking at the figures we suddenly have a trend of increase which we have the duty to raise publicly, in particularly with those who are causing these deaths.”
Since 2009, when the U.S. military made it a priority to reduce civilian casualties, the trend has been for far fewer of them to be caused by the military, and far more by the Taliban and other insurgents.
In 2007, less than half of the civilian casualties were caused by the insurgents, according to U.N. figures. The 53 per cent increase in the proportion of insurgent-caused casualties in the first half of 2010 over the same period in 2009 was the most dramatic change to date.
At the same time, however, the report made clear that the increase in civilian casualties caused by the insurgents accompanied a generally higher level of military activities by coalition forces.
“Nine years into the conflict, measures to protect Afghan civilians effectively and to minimise the impact of the conflict on basic human rights are more urgent than ever,” said Georgette Gagnon, human rights director for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, known as UNAMA.
Mr. de Mistura, the ranking U.N. official here, had harsh criticism for the insurgents' conduct, noting their widespread and increased use of indiscriminate weapons like roadside bombs in civilian areas, and their tendency to fight from civilian cover. “People who are part of this conflict should not be using human shields, should not be fighting from where civilians are,” he said.
In the first half of 2010, 1,271 civilians were killed and 1,997 wounded, the report said. The single biggest cause was insurgent bombings, including both suicide bombings and improvised explosive devices, which together claimed 557 deaths, 61 per cent of that total.
Overall, civilian casualties caused by government or coalition forces declined by 30 per cent for the period. Deaths of civilians from NATO aerial bombings, once the leading cause of such casualties, were down 64 per cent over the same period in 2009, for a total of 69 civilian deaths, the U.N. said.
The report ascribed the decrease to an order in July 2009, from the former U.S. commander, General Stanley A. McChrystal, which greatly limited the use of airstrikes where there was a risk of civilian casualties. The overall 31 per cent increase in civilian casualties was attributable to an increase in military operations, particularly in southern and southeastern Afghanistan, the report said, as larger numbers of NATO forces have poured into the country and military operations have increased.
In the northeastern part of the country, until recently relatively quiet, the increase in civilian deaths was dramatic, 136 per cent over the same period in 2009.
Casualties among children increased substantially in 2010, by 55 per cent, with 176 children killed and 389 injured, the report said, noting that IEDs were often placed in areas like parks and markets frequented by children.
The report also noted an increased use of intimidation and assassination of the civilian population by the Taliban, targeting anyone “perceived to be” connected with the government or international forces.
In 2009, such assassinations averaged 3.6 per week, increasing to seven per week in the first four months of 2010, then increasing substantially to 18 per week in May and June of 2010, the report said.
A statement on Tuesday from NATO's international force welcomed the report's findings but added a comment from the new commander, General David H. Petraeus, taken from his recent tactical directive to coalition soldiers.
“Every Afghan death diminishes our cause,” General Petraeus said. “While we have made progress in our efforts to reduce coalition-caused civilian casualties, we know the measure by which our mission will be judged is protecting the population from harm by either side.” — New York Times News Service
