At least 3,812 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the first half of this year, with 89 kids killed by airstrikes alone, a new UN report reveals. International forces were responsible for over 300 civilian deaths.

Between January and June 2019, 1,366 civilians were killed, of whom at least 327 were children, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)’s report says.

While the overall figure is down compared to last year’s record high, there has been a 31 percent increase in casualties caused by government and foreign forces, with 717 Afghan civilians killed.

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Ground raids and clashes were responsible for most civilian casualties, followed by air strikes and bombs. Airstrikes caused 519 civilian casualties, including 363 deaths – a 39 percent increase in airstrike casualties from the previous year, which the UN said highlights “the lethal character of this tactic.”

The Taliban, which controls more of the country now than it did before the US invasion in 2001, and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) killed 531 Afghans in a series of targeted attacks on government officials, civilians, religious scholars and aid workers.

“Parties to the conflict may give differing explanations for recent trends, each designed to justify their own military tactics,” UNAMA human rights chief Richard Bennett said of the deaths, adding that “only a determined effort to avoid civilian harm, not just by abiding by international humanitarian law but also by reducing the intensity of the fighting, will decrease the suffering of civilian Afghans.”

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The US and the Taliban are currently in talks, with the US hoping to reach a peace deal by September through which foreign forces could pull out if the Taliban provides security guarantees, including that the country will not become a safe haven for terrorist groups.

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