There has been a spike in civilian deaths since the May 11 announcement by the UN that civilian killings have shown a 20 percent decrease in the first quarter of 2012. An investigation by Lal Aqa Shirin and Esmatullah Mayar.
There has been a spike in civilian deaths since the May 11 announcement by the UN that civilian killings have shown a 20 percent decrease in the first quarter of 2012. An investigation by Lal Aqa Shirin and Esmatullah Mayar.
“It was nine o’clock in the morning. Suddenly there was an explosion. The area was covered in dust; a Mazda mini truck lay mangled by the blast. The bodies of women and children lay in bloody pools. The wounded were put in a tractor, but a second explosion shattered the tractor.”
The two blasts in quick succession in Arghestan district, Kandahar, on June 8 killed 14 people and wounded nine others. Jawid Faisal, head of press relations in the governor’s office, confirmed the bombs were placed in both the Mazda mini truck that was transporting civilians and the tractor. Jawed Faisal says that the victims included five women.
The wounded, some of them very critically injured, were taken to Spin Boldak hospital.
Though the Taleban have not formally accepted responsibility spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said civilians were not their targets but are caught in the blasts and cross-fire. The Taleban are trying to avoid civilian casualties, he claimed.
Following the Arghestan incident, Killid interviewed many people in Kandahar province who said Taleban mine attacks have increased in the last month, and claimed more civilian lives and damaged public property.
Every week there are deaths on the road between the two big cities of Kandahar and Herat which has been mined with IEDs (improvised exploding devices) by the Taleban.
Sharafuddin Sharififrom Kandahar said good Muslims considered the killing of innocents a sin. Nazar Mohammad, another resident of Kandahar city, said all sides in the Afghan conflict should stop targeting civilians. “Innocent people are killed. The combatants should fire at each other,” he added.
A few other incidents:
In the evening of July 3 two civilians in Khogyani district, Nangarhar, were shot by unidentified gunmen. Their bullet-riddled bodies were almost unrecognisable.
On June 21, at least 15 civilians were killed by Taleban gunmen who stormed a popular lakeside resort, Hotel Spuzhmai, on QarghaLake on the outskirts of Kabul
On June 19 eight civilians were killed in an explosion in Chapa Asya area of Mosa Kala district, Helmand.
On June 12, six civilians including a child were caught in a bloody fight between Taleban and international forces in MaidanWardak province and killed.
On June 1, 15 civilians were killed in a suicide attack on a US-run base in Khost province. The bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the outer security checkpost at Spen Jomat, the white mosque near the main square in Khost.
Aimal Faizi, the spokesman of the president, has urged the international forces and armed opponents of the government to stop the unnecessary killing of civilians. General John Allen, the commander of NATO and US forces, has called for a halt on operations involving civilian houses.
In Farah province on June 12, ANA (Afghan National Army) soldiers took out four civilians including the mullah of the local mosque, from their houses and killed them in Saaj village of Posht Road district in retaliation for a blast that killed three soldiers traveling in a Datsun Ranger. Three others were injured, and the soldiers took away five people for questioning.
Child casualties
There has been a spike in civilian deaths since the May 11 announcement by the UN that civilian killings have shown a 20 percent decline in the first quarter of this year after a steady rise over the last five years.
Jan Kubis, UN special envoy to Afghanistan, who was briefing the press, did not present the figures of number of civilians killed and injured between January and April 2012 but he maintained there was evidence of a decrease.
Shams Ahmadzai, the spokesman of the AIHRC (Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission) in an exclusive interview with Killid said between April and June 490 civilians were killed and 862 injured.
Killid tried to get information from UNOMA, but the spokesman, Nazeefullah Salarzai, said its report on civilian fatalities was ready for publishing and he could not share details ahead of the event.
The UN’s figures for 2011 show 3,000 civilian deaths and 4,500 injuries, which is a 2 percent increase as compared to 2010. According to the UN, civilian deaths in 2010 were 2,790 and in 2009, 2412.
Meanwhile on June 13, the UN children’s agency UNICEF has expressed concern about the deaths of children in its bulletin saying that at least five children were killed every day in Afghanistan. It states that in 2011 child fatalities in the conflict were 1,756 and 1,396 in the previous year.
Civilians are being killed in IED blasts, suicide and air attacks, and night-time operations. Habibullah Rafea,a researcher and member of the Science Academy said there was no justification for killing the civilians who cannot be made the victims of war. “The Taleban and foreign forces are both killing civilians. They should stop. This is a crime, and there is no justification,” he said.
Breshna Rabe, a Member of Parliament, has appealed to all groups to stop everything that leads to civilian deaths. “All fighting groups should stop planting IEDs, attacking civilian trucks, bombing and other operations which cause the assassination of innocent Afghans.”
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