Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rise by 22 per cent in 2014

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The war in Afghanistan killed or wounded over 10,000 civilians in 2014, a new report says.

A spike of 22 per cent in casualties was recored by the United Nations in 2014, smashing the 2103 record. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its report that casualties from suicide attacks, roadside bombs and explosive devices broke records, helping cause a record number of deaths of women and children.

Included in the toll were 3,699 civilian deaths (up 25 per cent) and 6,849 civilian injuries (up 21 per cent) for a 22 per cent rise in total civilian casualties over 2013. Since 2009, the armed conflict in Afghanistan has caused 47,745 civilian casualties with 17,774 Afghan civilians killed and 29,971 injured.
It was also the deadliest year for Afghan security forces since the start of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, known as Operation Enduring Freedom.

For the first time since 2009, more Afghan civilians were killed and injured in ground engagements than by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or any other tactic. The report found that civilian deaths and injuries from ground operations surged by 54 per cent making them the leading cause of civilian casualties and the biggest killers of Afghan women and children in 2014.

The rise in civilian casualties in 2014 resulted mainly from increased ground engagements across Afghanistan in which parties to the conflict increasingly used explosive weapons systems such as mortars, rockets and grenades, sometimes indiscriminately, in civilian-populated areas with devastating consequences for civilians. The increased indiscriminate use of IEDs and increased number of suicide attacks by Anti-Government Elements added to the rising civilian casualties in 2014.

The report highlighted that Anti-Government Elements remained responsible for the vast majority of Afghan civilian deaths and injuries. The report attributed 72 per cent of all civilian casualties to Anti-Government Elements, 14 per cent to Pro-Government Forces (12 per cent to Afghan national security forces, two per cent to international military forces) and 10 per cent to ground engagements between Anti-Government Elements and Afghan national security forces in which a civilian casualty could not be attributed to a specific party. Three per cent of all civilian casualties were caused by unattributed explosive remnants of war with one per cent from cross-border shelling.

As the withdrawal of international military forces and combat air support continued in 2014, UNAMA observed more frequent and larger ground operations by both Afghan national security forces and Anti-Government Elements in several regions with fighting often occurring in and near district centres. Increased ground fighting in civilian populated areas with all parties using mortars, other explosive weapons and small arms fire frequently resulted in deaths and injuries to civilians caught in the crossfire.

UNAMA documented 3,605 civilian casualties (1,092 killed and 2,513 injured) from ground engagements, accounting for 34 per cent of all civilian casualties in 2014. Of these, UNAMA attributed 43 per cent to Anti-Government Elements and 26 per cent to Pro-Government Forces. UNAMA could not attribute civilian casualties solely to either party in 29 per cent of ground operations with two per cent of civilian casualties from ground operations attributed to cross-border shelling.

The report found that women and children were particularly hard hit by the armed conflict and increased ground engagements in 2014. UNAMA documented a 40 per cent increase in children casualties with 2,474 children casualties (714 killed and 1,760 injured) compared to 2013. Women casualties increased by 21 per cent with 298 women killed and 611 injured.