US War on Terror Kills, Injures Hundreds of Afghans in 6 Months: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The so-called US war on terror killed and injured hundreds of Afghan civilians in the first half of 2019, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its latest report ground raids and clashes caused the most civilian casualties, followed by bomb attacks and airstrikes, Reuters reported.
At least 144 women and 327 children were killed and more than 1,000 wounded across the country, the report added.
Airstrikes caused 519 civilian casualties, 150 of whom were children.
“Parties to the conflict may give differing explanations for recent trends, each designed to justify their own military tactics,” UNAMA human rights chief Richard Bennett said.
“The fact remains that only a determined effort to avoid civilian harm, not just by abiding by international humanitarian law but also by reducing the intensity of the fighting, will decrease the suffering of civilian Afghans,” he said.
The US attacked Afghanistan in 2001 with the declared aim of ending the rule of the Taliban in the country. Today, however, the militant group remains in control of large parts of the country and is stepping up its attacks on foreign forces by day.
The United States’ invasion of Afghanistan was part of its so-called war on terror, launched in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
