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Civilian Casualties Surge in Afghanistan Fighting, U.N. Says Civilian Casualties Surge in Afghanistan Fighting, U.N. Says
(about 4 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Driven by increased ground combat between insurgents and government forces, civilian casualties in Afghanistan surged 24 percent through the first half of the year to their highest levels since 2009, according to the United Nations, in a grim signal of the way the war here is changing from the same period a year ago. KABUL, Afghanistan — Driven by increased ground combat between insurgents and government forces, civilian casualties in Afghanistan surged 24 percent through the first half of the year, reaching their highest levels since 2009, according to the United Nations. The findings were released just as a Taliban attack unfolded in the densely populated center of Kandahar, the main city in southern Afghanistan.
For the first time since the United Nations began publishing tallies of Afghans killed and wounded by the conflict, ground fighting has emerged as the deadliest facet of the war, instead of improvised explosive devices, which held that dubious distinction in the past. The death toll was especially high for women and children. At least nine people were killed in the Kandahar assault and the ensuing gun battle, including four civilians, Afghan officials said, violently illustrating how ground fighting, as opposed to improvised explosive devices, has emerged as the deadliest facet of the war. The United Nations report said that the death toll this year was especially high for women and children.
The report illustrates how exceptionally bloody the war has become and how the composition of the forces has changed. For the most part, the Americans have stopped fighting. Now, when coalition commanders say that Afghan forces are in the lead in combat across the country, it is more than just a hopeful talking point. Spikes in violence have occurred across Afghanistan, partly because the insurgents no longer have to worry about coalition troops coming to the aid of the Afghan forces. In Kandahar, officials said 22 attackers tried to storm the provincial governor’s office and the police headquarters shortly before noon, detonating suicide vests and car bombs. All of them were killed in the ensuing firefight, along with five policemen and the four civilians, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, the police chief of Kandahar Province.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, posting an account on its website that conspicuously left out any mention of the casualties they had inflicted.
The Taliban rarely acknowledge killing civilians. But the twice-yearly United Nations updates on civilian deaths have regularly found the Taliban responsible for roughly three quarters of such casualties, and the latest report indicated that the trend held steady through the first six months of 2014. Pro-government forces were responsible for less than 10 percent of the 1,564 civilians killed, the United Nations report said, and about 12 percent of the casualties could not be attributed to a specific party.
The report illustrated how exceptionally bloody the war has become as composition of the forces has changed. For the most part, the Americans have stopped fighting. Now, when coalition commanders say that Afghan forces are in the lead in combat across the country, it is more than just a hopeful talking point. Spikes in violence have occurred across Afghanistan, partly because the insurgents no longer have to worry about coalition troops coming to the aid of the Afghan forces.
The numbers, to some degree, bear this out. While insurgents were responsible for double the number of civilians killed compared with the same period in 2009, that figure has halved for pro-government forces — almost entirely the result of fewer coalition airstrikes.The numbers, to some degree, bear this out. While insurgents were responsible for double the number of civilians killed compared with the same period in 2009, that figure has halved for pro-government forces — almost entirely the result of fewer coalition airstrikes.
The report offers a useful snapshot of an increasingly opaque war. With fewer coalition forces around the country to monitor the fighting, the country’s defense and interior ministries distribute most data and information about the violence. However, both ministries are notoriously bad about sharing accurate information on police and military casualties. The picture that emerges from their sporadic reports is that the death toll of the country’s security forces seems to be increasing. The report offers a useful snapshot of an increasingly opaque war. With fewer coalition forces around the country to monitor the fighting, the country’s defense and interior ministries distribute most data and information about the violence. However, both ministries are notoriously bad about sharing accurate information on police and military casualties. The picture that emerges from their sporadic reports is that the death toll of the country’s security forces seems to be rising.
The significant increase in fighting undermines assertions made early in the coalition troop drawdown that the insurgents would be less willing to fight their fellow Afghans. While in the past the Taliban might have often opted for roadside bombs to attack the well-armed coalition forces, they have recently been increasingly willing to test their luck with face-to-face fighting against the Afghan forces, particularly in areas with dense civilian populations. The significant increase in fighting challenges assertions made early in the coalition troop drawdown that the insurgents would be less willing to fight their fellow Afghans. While in the past the Taliban might have often opted for roadside bombs to attack the well-armed coalition forces, they have recently been increasingly willing to test their luck with face-to-face fighting against the Afghan forces, particularly in areas with dense civilian populations.
Unlike coalition forces, whose rules of engagement are designed to minimize civilian casualties, Afghan forces and insurgents are less discriminating. The Afghan Army will regularly lob mortars into villages where they believe insurgents are lurking. The militants, meanwhile, will fire rockets at civilian areas from a distance, hoping to hit government forces but often failing. While the rules of engagement for international forces are geared specifically to minimize civilian casualties, Afghan forces and insurgents are less discriminating. The Afghan Army regularly lobs mortar shells into villages where they believe insurgents are lurking. The militants, meanwhile, fire rockets at civilian areas from a distance, hoping to hit government forces but often failing.
“The nature of conflict in Afghanistan is changing in 2014 with an escalation of ground engagements in civilian-populated areas,” Jan Kubis, the United Nations special representative for Afghanistan, said in a statement. “The impact on civilians, including the most vulnerable Afghans, is proving to be devastating.”“The nature of conflict in Afghanistan is changing in 2014 with an escalation of ground engagements in civilian-populated areas,” Jan Kubis, the United Nations special representative for Afghanistan, said in a statement. “The impact on civilians, including the most vulnerable Afghans, is proving to be devastating.”
Deaths and injuries to children caused by the increase in ground fighting more than doubled from the same period a year ago, while two-thirds more women were caught in the fighting. More than half of the casualties were caused by grenades and mortars landing on homes and in farmland and playgrounds. The remaining injuries and deaths resulted from civilians caught in crossfire. Deaths and injuries to children caused by the increase in ground fighting more than doubled from the same period a year ago, while two-thirds more women were caught in the fighting. More than half of the casualties were the result of grenades and mortar shells landing on homes, in farmland and on playgrounds. The remaining injuries and deaths resulted from civilians caught in crossfire.
“In 2014, the fight is increasingly taking place in communities, public places and near the homes of ordinary Afghans, with the death and injury to women and children in a continued disturbing upward spiral,” Georgette Gagnon, the United Nations director for human rights here, said in a statement.“In 2014, the fight is increasingly taking place in communities, public places and near the homes of ordinary Afghans, with the death and injury to women and children in a continued disturbing upward spiral,” Georgette Gagnon, the United Nations director for human rights here, said in a statement.
Nearly three-quarters of the casualties in the first half of the year were caused by the insurgency, the United Nations report said, while pro-government forces were responsible for less than 10 percent. The United Nations said that about 12 percent of the casualties could not be attributed to a specific party. The attack in Kandahar was a reminder of the dangers faced by civilians in even the most heavily guarded parts of Afghanistan. The targets — the Police Headquarters and the governor’s office — are in a densely populated area of Kandahar city, and the assault sparked a fierce gun battle fought only streets that are ordinarily packed with Afghans going about their daily routines.
In a reminder of the dangers faced by civilians in even the most heavily guarded parts of Afghanistan, a group of suicide bombers attacked the Police Headquarters and the office of the governor of Kandahar Province in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, Afghan officials said. “The enemy is always trying to cause problems and create chaos,” General Abdul Raziq, the police chief, told reporters.
Both buildings are in a densely populated area of the city of Kandahar, and initial reports offered by Afghan officials indicated that civilians may have been killed or wounded. The Taliban on Wednesday also dispatched hundreds of fighters to Chahr Sadra District, a remote part of Ghor Province in western Afghanistan, where the insurgents briefly overcame police and seized control of the district center, the Taliban and Afghan officials said.
The assault began around noon, when the attackers detonated at least two motorcycles laden with explosives outside the governor’s palace, Dawa Khan Minapal, a spokesman for the governor, said. At least seven attackers tried to storm the building, though by early afternoon government officials said that they had all been shot after failing to breach the compound. Police and army reinforcement backed by at least two helicopters from Afghanistan’s nascent air force arrived by midafternoon, and launched an assault to retake the district center, said Fahim Qayem. He said they had largely accomplished the goal but that heavy clashes were still going as dusk approached.
At least two border guards were killed and four other members of Afghan security forces were wounded in the attack, said Mr. Minapal. Details of civilian casualties were not immediately available. He said least nine Taliban men were killed, but no police were died in the fighting. He did not say if any soldiers or civilians were killed or wounded.
Around the same time, several suicide bombers tried to storm the Police Headquarters, said Zia Durani, a spokesman for the police in Kandahar. The Taliban, in a separate posting on its website, insisted that it remained in control of the district center and had killed 10 policemen. The remote location of the fighting made it impossible independently verify any of the claims.
The police quickly confronted the attackers, and “firefights are ongoing, and the bombers are trying to enter,” Mr. Durani said. “They are positioned near the headquarters and are engaged with the police.”
He said there were an unspecified number of police and civilian casualties in the attack.