UN reports drop in civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2012
| Publisher | UN News Service |
| Publication Date | 30 May 2012 |
| Cite as | UN News Service, UN reports drop in civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2012, 30 May 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4fc87e6a2.html [accessed 19 May 2013] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
A study conducted by the human rights section of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) found there were 579 civilian casualties and 1,216 injuries from 1 January to 30 April this year the first time that civilian casualty figures have dropped since UNAMA began compiling these figures in 2007.
The vast majority of the deaths this year 79 per cent were attributed to actions by anti-government elements. Pro-government forces accounted for nine per cent of the deaths, and 12 per cent of the casualties were unattributed.
"Civilian casualties continue to occur at unacceptable levels," the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of UNAMA, Ján Kubi, told a news conference in Kabul.
"Regretfully, the anti-government forces don't show respect for civilians," he added, noting that the use of landmines and suicide bombers by these forces is "totally unacceptable."
The annual report on protection of civilians in armed conflict, prepared by UNAMA and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and released in February, recorded 3,021 civilian deaths in 2011 an increase of eight per cent on the previous year's total of 2,790.
Since 2007, at least 11,860 civilians have lost their lives in the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan between the Government, backed by international forces, and the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
