In Afghan conflict, the lives of poor and innocent Afghans have lost value to the warring sides as they act to be competing with each other in the killing of non-combatants. While people are still reeling in grief over the death of civilians in terrorist attacks in cities, they hear news of more civilian deaths, but this time in villages and in operations carried out by pro-government forces. Both cities and villages have turned into killing zones for the civilian population. No one is safe nowhere. Continued war has taken civilian toll to an unsustainably high level, especially in recent weeks.
Government forces have again killed innocent people in the Musa Kala district of southern Helmand province. According to local officials, a wedding ceremony has been targeted, leaving behind 30 people dead, and scores wounded. The majority of the victims are women and children whose images are being circulated on social media, and are extremely graphic and heart-wrenching.
Discussions over the protection of civilians in the conflict are ongoing for years, but not only there has been no positive shift in the trend on the ground; the issue has worsened. Every year has seen higher civilian casualties than the previous year. According to UN reports on protection of civilians, Afghan and foreign troops, for the first time over the last almost two decades, were found to be responsible for more civilian casualties than the insurgents in 2018, and that remains unchanged this year. Civilian casualties in ground operations and airstrikes carried out by pro-government forces have hit an unprecedented high.
Civilian casualties have been considered one of the major drivers in the growing escalation of fighting. Such incidents not only further undermine the already eroded trust between government and the masses but also help boost insurgent recruitment opportunities. Civilian casualties are a major threat to the survival of the regime as much as the absence of accountability of the culprits is. Scores of incidents of civilian casualties occur each month, yet no one has been prosecuted so far. This culture of impunity has largely contributed to growing civilian toll, which has left families of the victims with a single option, revenge. Those, who do not get due justice, resort to revenge, thereby leading to more bloodshed and unrelenting violence.
