Civilian casualties have long been considered one of the main drivers of the Afghan conflict, as the warring sides have not remained committed to the protection of unarmed Afghans. All sides claim to be trying to protect the lives and property of civilians, but neither side has been able to practically avoid harm to the noncombatants. War continues to take a heavy toll on civilians, with the culprits largely going unpunished. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also voiced serious concern over civilian casualties in Afghanistan, calling for the trial of members of Afghan Special Forces who killed four healthcare workers in a night raid on a local health clinic in Wardak’s Daimirdad district last week.
Civilian casualties have hit record high over recent months. Afghan government, which is sidelined from the US-Taliban talks, has ramped up pressure on the militants. The government’s counterinsurgency operations have seen an unprecedented surge in recent months, thereby causing increased civilian casualties, even more than those attributed to the militants. Due to intense military pressures on insurgents from the government, Afghan forces have, for the first time in the last 18 years of war, inflicted more casualties on civilians than the Taliban.
Afghan government is aiming to force the Taliban to the negotiating table, but if the pressure causes civilian casualties, it can widen the distance between the government and masses. Military operations that harm civilians cannot eliminate as many militants as they can make. The embattled government leaders must not ignore the fact that civilian casualties means adding fuel to the fire. When government forces kill or wound innocent people, the victim families do not get justice, and therefore resort to revenge attacks as the last option, something that has prolonged the war, with Afghan blood spilled on both sides.
