A family struggles through a dusty environment in Afghanistan. Photo: UNAMA / Fraidoon Poya
Afghanistan war continues to inflict a heavy toll on human beings in the country. Nearly 17-year-old, the conflict has also had deadly regional repercussions with Pakistan paying a huge cost.
On Friday, the United Nations noted in annual report that it documented 10,453 civilian casualties – 3,438 killed and 7,015 injured in Afghanistan.
“The human cost of this ugly war in Afghanistan – loss of life, destruction and immense suffering – is far too high” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto.
He was speaking at the launch of the 2017 annual report Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) during a Press Conference in Kabul.
According to the majority of civilian casualties resulted from suicide attacks, improvised explosive device, ground engagements, targeted killings, explosive remnants of war and air strikes.
“All sides in the Afghan conflict must do more to protect and respect the civilian population, said Afghans from different walks of life at a series of UN-backed forums around the country,” the UN said.
The report recommends stronger measures to protect civilians, and a call for dialogue between warring parties to end the conflict.
“We have to work for a peace agreement to end the conflict. Collective efforts must be redoubled to bring this conflict to an end” Yamamoto concluded.
The UN official’s call for a negotiated settlement of the longstanding dispute is not new but the sooner that happens the fewer lives will be wasted in Afghanistan and the region.
