Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit record high in 2016
아프가니스탄 시민 사망자 수 A report this week from the UN indicates that the killing and injuries of Afghan civilians hit a new high last year, as fighting worsened between government and insurgent forces. Oh Soo-young reports. The number of casualties among civilian men, women and children in fifteen years of war in Afghanistan has reached an all-time high last year, according to a new United Nations report. "In 2016 UNAMA documented 11,418 civilian casualties, an overall three percent increase compared to the previous record high documented in 2015." The report shows that three-thousand-four-hundred-and-ninety-eight civilians were killed in conflict related instances and 79-hundred were injured. About a third of those affected were children -- the number up 24 percent from the previous recorded figure. Nine-hundred-and-twenty-three were killed and almost 26-hundred of them were injured. According to the report, ground engagements between rebels and pro-government forces were the leading cause of the casualties with improvised explosive devices along with suicide and complex attacks. Nearly two-thirds of the casualties were caused by anti-government forces, mainly the Taliban,... while a quarter was prompted by pro-government forces. The UN Secretary-General's special representative for Afghanistan Tadamichi Yamamoto urged all parties to take immediate concrete action to protect the lives of civilians. He called for a stop to fighting in civilian populated areas and public spaces such as schools, hospital and mosques. However, fighting in Afghanistan is largely expected to worsen this year, after negotiation efforts between the Afghan government and the Taliban collapsed last summer,... prompting Taliban militants to advance into major cities. The UN said last month that the continued deepening of the conflict caused a rise of 13 percent in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance to nine-point-three million this year. The organization appealed for a response plan worth 550 million U.S. dollars to provide shelter, food, healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation to affected people. Oh Soo-young, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): / newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: / arirangtv Twitter: / arirangworld Instagram: / arirangworld
