Civilian casualties in Afghanistan soared to a record high in the first half of 2016, the UN said today, with children in particular paying a heavy price as insurgents step up fighting and insecurity grows.
The UN report, which comes two days after the deadliest attack in Kabul since 2001, cited ground combat between militants and NATO-backed Afghan forces as the leading cause of casualties.
Between January and June, 1,601 civilians were killed and 3,565 were wounded -- a four percent increase in casualties compared to the same period last year, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.
The casualties have reached their highest level since the UN began issuing its authoritative reports in 2009.
The casualties include 1,509 children -- roughly one-third of the total -- a figure the UN described as “alarming and shameful”.