Courtesy Photo by Hedayatullah Amid/EPA

The United Nations released its latest report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan which documents up to 10,400 civilian deaths and injuries during the year 2019.

The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a statement said “The new report documents 3,403 civilians killed and 6,989 injured, with the majority of the civilian casualties inflicted by anti-government elements.”

UNAMA further added “It is the sixth year in a row that the number of civilian casualties has exceeded 10,000.”

“The figures outlined in the new report – released jointly by UNAMA and the UN Human Rights Office – represent a five per cent decrease over the previous year, mainly due to a decrease in civilian casualties caused by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP),” the report stated.

It also added “Civilian casualties caused by the other parties increased, particularly by the Taliban (21 per cent increase) and the international military forces (18 per cent increase), mainly due to an increase in improvised explosive device attacks and airstrikes.”

“All parties to the conflict must comply with the key principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution to prevent civilian casualties,” said Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “Belligerents must take the necessary measures to prevent women, men, boys and girls from being killed by bombs, shells, rockets and improvised mines; to do otherwise is unacceptable.”