Over 1,500 Afghan Civilians Killed, Injured in July: UN Mission
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – More than 1,500 Afghan civilians were either killed or injured as a result of conflict and terrorist attacks in July, the highest number of any month this year, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said Saturday.
"The United Nations in Afghanistan reminds all parties to the conflict of their responsibility to protect civilians and to comply with their obligations under international law, as the latest UN documentation shows that civilian casualty rates returned to record high levels in the month of July," the mission said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
The statement came as negotiations between Taliban representative and a United States delegation were going on in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
"As peace efforts have intensified in recent weeks so too has the conflict on the ground," Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, was quoted as saying in the statement.
"I call on all parties not to ramp up military operations thinking that doing so will give them a stronger position in talks about peace," said the envoy, adding "Escalating the conflict will have one primary result: greater loss of civilian life. Now is the time to demonstrate restraint and real respect for the lives of ordinary Afghan civilians."
The Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 1,360 civilians were killed and over 2,440 others injured in conflict-related incidents in the first six months of this year, according to the figures released by the UNAMA on Tuesday.
UNAMA urged all parties to the conflict to strengthen their engagement with the United Nations and reminds them of their responsibility to protect civilians, the statement added.
