Civilian Casualty Count Jumps in Afghanistan

Feb. 8, 2014 2:45 a.m. ET

Afghan security officials inspect an Islamic seminary after a bomb explosion in Kabul on Feb. 3. European Pressphoto Agency

KABUL—Last year was the most violent for civilians in Afghanistan since 2009, underscoring how noncombatants are increasingly bearing the brunt of war as foreign troops head home, according to a United Nations report.
The U.N. report showed that civilian casualties rose 14% in 2013, with Taliban-led insurgents blamed for almost three-fourths of the total. More of the victims were women and children, it said.
In all, 2,959 people were killed and 5,656 injured last year, compared with 2,768 killed and 4,821 injured in 2012.
The rise in civilian casualties highlights the worsening security situation in Afghanistan that U.S.-led troops are leaving behind after more than 12 years of fighting.
“Reduced civilian suffering and fewer civilian casualties together with improvements in human rights protection should be the core benchmarks of improved stability and efforts toward peace in the security and political transition in 2014,” said Georgette Gagnon, director of human rights for the U.N.’s Afghanistan mission.
Taliban-led insurgents were responsible for 74% of the casualties through their use of homemade bombs and suicide attacks in Kabul and other populated areas, the U.N. said.
Over the course of 2013, Afghan forces took over responsibility for fighting. The insurgency, however, kept the pressure high, eager to undermine confidence in the capabilities of police officers and soldiers as foreign troops take a back seat.
That contributed to a 43% surge in the number of civilians injured or killed in crossfire between insurgents and pro-government forces.
At the same time, as airstrikes and other operations carried out by foreign forces significantly declines, so did the number of civilian casualties blamed on them, the U.N. said.
Despite the Taliban repeatedly vowing to take all necessary steps to avoid harming civilians, roadside bombs planted by the insurgents were the No. 1 killer. The U.N. said that such bombs caused 34% of all civilian casualties.
The U.N. reported an 84% rise in the number of civilians injured or killed by remote-controlled improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, suggesting that civilians were deliberately being targeted.
At the same time, it noted a significant drop in the number of casualties caused by the more indiscriminate pressure-triggered IEDs.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement Saturday slammed the U.N. report as biased. He said that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar instructs his fighters to prevent civilian casualties, and that last year’s operations “were conducted with caution and caused fewer civilian casualties compared to the past.”
Overall, the U.N. said 88 civilians were killed and 261 injured during ground operations carried out by Afghan security forces last year—a large increase from the previous year.
“Preventing civilian casualties is our top priority,” said Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s interior ministry. “We have frequently canceled operations for fear they would cause civilian casualties.”
Dawlat Waziri, the spokesman for the Afghan defense ministry, also said troops do their best to avoid hurting civilians.
The U.N. report also noted a sharp increase in civilian casualties caused by unexploded munitions: 114 deaths and 229 injuries in 2013, 63% more than in 2012.
The U.N. blamed this partly on ammunition and explosive devices left over from past conflicts, but it also identified the rapid closure of bases and firing ranges by the U.S.-led coalition as another cause. It urged the coalition to clear and mark areas where there are potential hazards for civilians.
“We are committed to continue to minimize the risk that explosive remnants of war present to civilian populations,” U.S. Army Lt. Col. William Griffin, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force, said in response.
To reduce risks to civilians, Col. Griffin said the coalition has started joint training programs with Afghan forces to increase awareness on the hazards of explosive remnants of war, especially around towns and villages close to ranges.
—Ehsanullah Amiri contributed to this article.
Write to Margherita Stancati at margherita.stancati@wsj.com

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