The United Nations has reported that 923 children in Afghanistan were killed last year, a 25% increase from 2015 and the most since the U.N. began keeping track seven years ago.
An additional 2,589 children were injured, a 23% rise that was also a record high.
The totals, released Monday, were another sign that the largely forgotten war in Afghanistan is taking a growing toll on civilians. The last year saw a rise in fighting in populated areas, increased attacks by Islamic State militants, more airstrikes and greater civilian exposure to land mines.
Apart from a slight dip in 2012, the number of civilians of all ages killed or wounded has risen each year since 2009, when the U.N. began keeping those statistics. The casualty total — which includes deaths and injuries — climbed 3% to 11,418.
The disproportionate spike in child deaths was due mainly to a 66% increase in casualties from land mines and other buried munitions. Most of those victims were children, the U.N. report said.
Young Afghans were also victimized in ground battles between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and insurgents, mainly from the Taliban. With 390 child deaths and 1,371 injuries caused by ground fighting, the casualty total climbed 23% from 2015.
“This appalling conflict destroys lives and tears communities apart in every corner of Afghanistan,” Tadamichi Yamamoto, the ranking U.N. official in Kabul, said in a statement accompanying the report.
With U.S.-led international forces operating mainly in an advisory role, and a third of Afghanistan’s population either living under Taliban control or in contested areas, ground battles are becoming increasingly frequent and deadly.
The U.N. attributed 61% of civilian deaths and injuries to Taliban and other insurgent groups and 24% to government forces, with smaller proportions blamed on foreign troops and pro-government militias.
President Ashraf Ghani’s office said he welcomed the report but that security forces already take measures to protect civilians.
“Despite the Taliban and other terrorist groups, the government is committed to protecting the lives and wealth of its citizens and is committed to accountability,” it said in a statement.
The Taliban, which has consistently rejected the U.N.’s findings that it is responsible for most of the casualties, issued a statement saying it denied the report.
“All sides of the conflict have usually said that they will take measures to prevent civilian casualties, but they never follow up with it,” said Atiqullah Amarkheil, a military affairs expert in Kabul.
The growing toll was also due to increased attacks by fighters loyal to Islamic State, the Sunni Muslim militant group based in Iraq and Syria, which has mainly attacked minority Shiite Muslims. The U.N. counted 209 people killed and 690 injured in attacks attributed to Islamic State supporters, a tenfold increase from the previous year.
Most of the casualties were the result of three large attacks, the biggest coming in July when 80 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the bombing of a protest by the Hazara ethnic group, who are Shiites.
In response to the widening threat from Islamic State, as well as the Taliban, then-President Obama expanded the U.S. military’s authority to conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan. That has also led to civilian casualties last year, with Afghan and international airstrikes responsible for 250 deaths and 340 injuries — a doubling of the 2015 casualty count.
Since 2009, fighting in Afghanistan has killed 24,841 civilians and injured 45,347 others, the report said.
The Patriots stun the Falcons with a history-making comeback, beating Atlanta in the game’s first-ever overtime, Californians are paying billions for power they don’t need. Despite Trump’s orders, it’s business at usual at the U.S. border. Following Trump’s executive order to fast-track two pipelines, thousands converged in downtown L.A. on Sunday to protest.
The Patriots stun the Falcons with a history-making comeback, beating Atlanta in the game’s first-ever overtime, Californians are paying billions for power they don’t need. Despite Trump’s orders, it’s business at usual at the U.S. border. Following Trump’s executive order to fast-track two pipelines, thousands converged in downtown L.A. on Sunday to protest.
The Patriots stun the Falcons with a history-making comeback, beating Atlanta in the game’s first-ever overtime, Californians are paying billions for power they don’t need. Despite Trump’s orders, it’s business at usual at the U.S. border. Following Trump’s executive order to fast-track two pipelines, thousands converged in downtown L.A. on Sunday to protest.
The Patriots stun the Falcons with a history-making comeback, beating Atlanta in the game’s first-ever overtime, Californians are paying billions for power they don’t need. Despite Trump’s orders, it’s business at usual at the U.S. border. Following Trump’s executive order to fast-track two pipelines, thousands converged in downtown L.A. on Sunday to protest.
Jarin Islam of the Wilshire Center-Koreatown Neighborhood Council joins other community advocates and leaders for a news conference and solidarity rally with the Muslim community of Los Angeles.
Jarin Islam of the Wilshire Center-Koreatown Neighborhood Council joins other community advocates and leaders for a news conference and solidarity rally with the Muslim community of Los Angeles.
3-year-old filly is impressive
3-year-old filly is impressive
Thousands of people gathered Sunday in downtown Los Angeles to protest the proposed $3.8-billion Dakota Access pipeline, which activists across the country say threatens the water supply and sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota.
Thousands of people gathered Sunday in downtown Los Angeles to protest the proposed $3.8-billion Dakota Access pipeline, which activists across the country say threatens the water supply and sacred sites of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota.
Opponents of President Trump’s executive order on refugees and immigration began rallying in front of Tom Bradley International Terminal around 11 a.m. They were joined about an hour later by a smaller group of travel ban supporters who stationed themselves across the roadway.
Opponents of President Trump’s executive order on refugees and immigration began rallying in front of Tom Bradley International Terminal around 11 a.m. They were joined about an hour later by a smaller group of travel ban supporters who stationed themselves across the roadway.
Special correspondent Faizy reported from Kabul, Afghanistan, and staff writer Bengali from Rome.
shashank.bengali@latimes.com
Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia
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