Nearly 6,000 civilians have been killed or wounded in Afghanistan this year, a report finds, heaping strain on Taliban peace talks
Nearly 6,000 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the first nine months of the year as heavy fighting between government forces and Taliban insurgents rages on despite efforts to find peace, a new United Nations report has found.
There were 5,939 civilian casualties in the fighting - 2,117 people killed and 3,822 wounded - from January to September 2020, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in the report, released on Tuesday.
Casualties among civilians had dropped 30% from the same period last year but UNAMA said violence has failed to slow since the beginning of talks between government negotiators and the Taliban that began in the Qatari capital of Doha last month.
'High levels of violence continue with a devastating impact on civilians, with Afghanistan remaining among the deadliest places in the world to be a civilian,' the mission said in the quarterly report.
A new report from the United Nations has found that 2,117 civilians were killed and 3,822 wounded in Afghanistan from January to September or 2020. Pictured: An injured girl receives treatment at a hospital after a suicide attack in Khost province
Onlookers examine the wreck of a vehicle after a car bomb killed at least three people and injured 13 more in Kabul on Tuesday
The Taliban were responsible for 45% of civilian casualties while government troops caused 23%, it said.
US-led international forces were responsible for 2%.
Most of the remainder came in crossfire, or were caused by Islamic State militants or 'undetermined' anti-government or pro-government elements, UNAMA said.
Ground fighting caused the most casualties followed by suicide and roadside bomb attacks, targeted killings by the Taliban and air strikes by Afghan troops, the UN mission said.
An injured man arrives at a hospital after an attack in Khost province on Tuesday. The UN report found that the Taliban were responsible for the majority of civilian casualties in the first nine months of the year
Smoke rises from the car bomb blast in Kabul on Tuesday, which killed at least three people and injured 13 more. The attack came as the Taliban and Afghan government continue strained peace talks aimed at ending almost two decades of conflict
Fighting has sharply increased in several parts of the country in recent weeks, impinging peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Casualties among combatants on both sides have also been high, officials have said.
At least three people were killed and 13 more injured in a car bomb explosion in Kabul on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, in the restive Khost province, five policemen were killed and dozens of people injured in an hours-long attack on an Afghan special forces base which included three suicide bombers, AFP reported.
The attacks came just three days after a suicide bomber killed 24 people and wounded 57 others outside an education centre in the Afghan capital.
The talks in Doha are aimed at ending 19 years of conflict since US-backed forces, supported by US air strikes, ousted the Taliban in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The US has blamed the Taliban for harbouring Al-Qaeda leaders accused of plotting the attacks, which former Taliban leader Osama bin Laden later claimed full responsibility for.
The Doha talks follow a February deal between the US and the Taliban which promised the departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan in exchange for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban.
The ongoing talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban are aimed at negotiating a permanent ceasefire and forging a power-sharing agreement.