KABUL (SW) – Spokesman for the presidency, Sediq Sediqi on Wednesday blamed the Taliban for causing most of the civilian casualties in the country.
Addressing a press conference, he said the insurgents are deliberately targeting the civilians in mosques, schools and other public places. Commenting on the recent reports by the UNAMA, he said the figures shared by this mission are not acceptable.
He said only in one week, the Taliban have killed more than 100 civilians and injured close to two hundred others.
This comes a day after the UNAMA released its latest report on civilian casualties in the country. The conflict in Afghanistan continues to have a devastating impact on civilians, with the latest UN update released on Tuesday documenting 3,812 civilian casualties (1,366 deaths and 2,446 injured) in the first half of 2019.
While the number of civilians killed and injured is 27 per cent down from the same period in 2018 –the year that saw record high numbers of recorded civilian casualties– the UN notes with concern disturbing patterns such as the 27 per cent increase in civilian deaths in the second quarter of 2019 compared with the first.
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