UN voices concern over civilian casualties in airstrikes as they are up by 52%

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has expressed concern over the increased number of civilian caused by airstrikes this year in Afghanistan.
UNAMA received multiple, credible allegations that on 22 September, aerial ordnance impacted the home of a teacher in the Badrab area of Tagab district of northeastern Kapisa province, killing nine civilians, including four children and three women, with several others injured, according to the statement, adding that “All the victims from the attack were from the same family, including grandparents and children aged between two and twelve. Five of the six other family members who were injured when their home was destroyed were women and young children.”
The incident took place during operations conducted by government forces against Taliban in the area.
“It was not immediately clear whether the strike was carried out by international forces or the Afghan Air Force. UNAMA is in contact with both entities, as part of UNAMA’s ongoing independent verification process to establish facts around such incidents and to advocate with parties to improve mitigation measures in future operations to prevent civilian casualties,” the statement said.
In the meantime, UNAMA reminds all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations to protect civilians from harm and holds that all parties to the conflict must strictly adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian law to take all feasible measures to protect civilians. UNAMA also calls upon parties responsible for operations resulting in civilian casualties to ensure independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigations into these incidents.
In the first six months of the year, UNAMA documented 353 civilian casualties (149 deaths and 204 injuries) from aerial attacks, a 52 percent increase compared to the same period in 2017. It is of particular concern that women and children made up more than
half of all aerial attack civilian casualties, according to the statement.
UNAMA attributed 52 percent of all civilian casualties from aerial attacks to the Afghan forces, 45 percent to international troops, and the remaining three percent to unidentified pro-government forces.
Around seven percent of all civilian casualties in the Afghan conflict in the first half of the year were attributed to air operations.
Since the release of UNAMA’s 2018 mid-year Protection of Civilians Report, UNAMA has continued to record increasing numbers of civilian casualties caused by airstrikes.
On Monday, Kapisa officials said at least 10 civilians had been killed in a foreign forces operation in Tagab district on Sunday night.
Mahfoz Safi, the provincial council’s deputy chief, said the incident occurred on Sunday night in the Badrab village during a foreign forces operation against Taliban and as a result civilians were killed.
According to Safi, children and women were also among the victims and three others were wounded in the incident.
Safi said that all the victims were residents of the area.
Separately, 12 civilians, all of them children and women, were killed on the same night in Jaghato district of Wardak province. Resident of the area said a house was hit by an airstrike during joint Afghan and foreign forces operation in Mullah Hafiz village.