Following a trend that has been depressingly familiar in recent years, the United Nations has released a new report today on violence in Afghanistan, finding record levels of violence against civilians in the first half of 2016, with 1,601 killed and 3,565 wounded.
This is the highest number of casualties since the UN started keeping track in 2009, and puts 2016 on track to break the record level set in 2015, which itself broke a record set only in 2014. Needless to say, the situation is just getting worse.
Children are increasingly the targets of this rising violence, with the new report including 388 children killed and 1,121 wounded, a level the UN described as particularly shameful. This toll stops in June, and so doesn’t include the 80 civilians killed last week or the hundreds wounded in Kabul suicide bombings by ISIS.
The statistics showed children disproportionately the victims of IEDs, though the largest source of civilian casualties overall remains “ground engagements.” There is considerable dispute over what portion of the civilians killed in combat are the fault of the government and how many a5re the fault of the insurgency.
“There is considerable dispute over what portion of the civilians killed in combat are the fault of the government and how many a5re the fault of the insurgency.”
This is the crucial question, Jason. Please provide some links to the “…considerable dispute…” so that we may judge for ourselves.
My guess: massive air power — US air power of course — called in at the first sign of enemy fire from some “enemy-held” village in the so-called “ground engagements”, is the source of the civilian slaughter.
The giveaway is to be found in the very careful language used to describe any given “engagement”. Language which avoids describing the aspect of the “engagement” that involves the deployment of that air power. Often, the civilian deaths will be attributed to the insurgents/Taliban, by merely stating that the Taliban “caused” the violence.
As always, be vigilant in your reading, notice the trickery/spin/manipulation/propaganda.