Staff Writer With AFP

UN report documents highest Afghan civilian casualties in a single month since records began

An “unprecedented” number of civilians were killed or injured in Afghanistan between July and September this year, the United Nations said in a new report released on Thursday, October 17, calling the violence “totally unacceptable.” The quarterly report, which also charts violence throughout 2019 so far, underscores how “Afghans have been exposed to extreme levels of violence for many years” despite promises by all sides to “prevent and mitigate harm to civilians.” The figures – 1,174 deaths and 3,139 injured from July 1 until September 30 – represent the largest number of civilian casualties the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has recorded in a single quarter since it began systematically documenting civilian casualties in 2009, and a 42% increase over the same period last year. July also saw the most civilians killed and injured in a single month since UNAMA records began in 2009. “Civilian casualties are totally unacceptable,” said the U.N.’s special representative in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, adding they demonstrate the importance of talks leading to a ceasefire and a permanent political settlement. “The impact of Afghanistan’s conflict on civilians is appalling,” said Fiona Frazer, UNAMA’s Human Rights Chief. Afghanistan violence surges in Q3 2019 The U.N. laid …