Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) on Saturday said there have an 8.36 percent surge in civilian casualties over the past six months.
Shukrullah Mashkur, secretary of the commission, voiced concern over the increase in civilian casualties, saying the warring parties should work harder for a ceasefire and bringing an end to the war.
“AIHRC is seriously worried by the casualties. We ask the parties into conflict to pay heed to human rights during their conflict. They are responsible for protecting innocents and their dignity. We demand them to observe truce for as long as possible.”
According to him, due to the intentions of gaining more privilege in the ongoing peace talks, the war has turned complex and spilled over into the cities.
This comes as the Ministry of Interior (MoI) recently said that the Taliban have killed 2,219 civilians and injured another 5,172 in 2019 as a result of suicide bombings, guerrilla attacks, land mines and armed assaults.
On the other hand, Taliban Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement strongly rejected the figures and said a greater number of civilians had suffered casualties in 2019 during the attacks of the Afghan security forces and the Resolute Support mission.
This is while a report last month by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) attributed a large proportion of civilian casualties to the Taliban. However, it also held responsible the Afghan and foreign troops for civilian deaths.
According to MoI, last year August was called the most deadly month for civilians when 302 innocent people lost their lives and 762 received injuries.
