UN says U.S. and Afghan forces killed more civilians than insurgents

U.S. forces in Afghanistan conduct an air strike in the town of Oshaky, Afghanistan, January 16, 2010. /VCG Photo

U.S. and Afghan forces have killed more civilians in Afghanistan in the first half of 2019 than insurgents did, the UN said Tuesday. The claim was soon rejected by U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, stating the methods and findings of the UN are not credible.

The latest information from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) shows pro-government forces, including the U.S., killed 717 civilians compared to 531 by insurgents in the first half of 2019. The report pointed out air strikes, mostly carried out by American warplanes, killing 363 people, including 89 children.

Colonel Sonny Leggett, spokesman for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, disputed UNAMA's data and said the U.S. military investigates all civilian casualty allegations in what is a "complex environment."

"USFOR-A rejects UNAMA's methods and findings. Sources with limited information and conflicted motives are not always credible," Leggett said in a statement, adding U.S. follows the highest standards of accuracy and accountability and always work to avoid harm to civilian non-combatants but it did not give its own figures for civilian casualties.

Afghan security forces and municipality workers gather at the site of an attack in Kabul on July 29, 2019, a day after a deadly assault targeting a political campaign office. /VCG Photo

The UN figure revealed the total civilian casualties in the first half of this year with 1,366 died and another 2,446 injured. Ground engagements remained the leading cause of civilian casualties overall, accounting for one-third of the total, followed by improvised explosive bombings and aerial operations.

However, the UN report says total civilian casualties are down, with a 27 percent drop in casualties compared to the same period last year and the lowest total for the first half of a year since 2012.

While the UN welcomed the decrease and acknowledged that parties made efforts to reduce civilian casualties, but the UN thought they are not enough and will continue "to regard the level of harm done to civilians as shocking and unacceptable," UNAMA said in a statement.

Afghan civilians have experienced many forms of suffering, at the hands of many actors since 2001, though the U.S. officially ended its combat mission in 2014, about 14,000 U.S. troops are still stationed in Afghanistan as part of the U.S.-led NATO mission to train, assist and advise Afghan forces and to carry out counter-terrorism operations.

A wounded man receives treatment at a hospital after a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, July 25, 2019. /VCG Photo

The U.S. is pushing to forge a peace deal with the Taliban which might cover a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and Taliban guarantees not to harbor foreign militants.

As part of that effort, Taliban officials met at a historic summit with Afghan representatives at an "intra-Afghan dialogue" in their personal capacities in Doha earlier this month. Delegates issued a vague resolution that included a pledge to reduce civilian casualties to "zero," but in the weeks since, ordinary Afghans have continued to be killed and wounded.

Afghan people are hungry for a peace deal, but the deal would be unsustainable without real commitments. It's unclear how the deal can be upheld and enforced as U.S. troops are withdrawn.

(With input from agencies)

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