KABUL, Afghanistan — The number of civilians killed or injured in Afghanistan rose by nearly a quarter in the first six months of 2013, according to a United Nations report on civilian casualties, reversing a decline last year that many hoped would signal an easing in the war’s toll on ordinary Afghans.
The Taliban continued to cause the vast majority of those casualties, with the factors driving the 23 percent increase including the indiscriminate use of roadside bombs and suicide attacks in major population centers, according to the report, released on Wednesday.
From January to June, the number of civilians killed in war-related violence rose to 1,319 from 1,158 a year earlier. In the same period, 2,533 civilians were injured, compared with 1,976 in 2012. For deaths, 2011 remains the worst year for Afghan civilians, with 1,575 killed in the first half of that year.
As Afghan forces have taken the lead in fighting this year, the insurgency has hit them hard, seeking to undermine confidence in Afghan government institutions as the coalition forces prepare to withdraw. That effort has included a focus on complex attacks in major cities like Kabul, where Afghans often find themselves in harm’s way, as well as other measures that have been felt mostly by civilians.
The shifting political and security situation has also led to increased ground fighting between the Afghan forces and insurgents, as the international troops shut down bases and reduce their footprint across the country. Fighting between the two groups over the abandoned swaths of the country was the second biggest cause of civilian deaths and injuries.
Antigovernment forces using improvised explosive devices accounted for more than a third of the civilian casualties in the first half of 2013. Women and children, in particular, suffered. Ground battles were the leading contributor to a 60 percent jump in casualties among women, while improvised explosive devices largely caused a 30 percent increase in injuries and deaths of children.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, would not comment on the report, saying the insurgents have formed a commission to review it. But there is little doubt the numbers will put greater pressure on the Taliban, from communities and its own ranks, to reduce the carnage among civilians.
In the last several months, the Taliban have condemned attacks that killed civilians, blaming the Afghan and coalition troops for using excessive force. In May, the group denied responsibility for — and condemned — an attack in Jalalabad on the International Committee of the Red Cross, an organization it sees as impartial.
Since the Afghans will continue to take a greater role in security operations, the United Nations expressed concern about “the absence of functioning oversight and accountability mechanisms.” When confronted with evidence of civilian casualties, the report said, the Afghan National Security Forces responded “that they did not know about the incident, or that the incident did not happen, or that the incident occurred but A.N.S.F. were not responsible.”
In part, the difficulty of assigning blame for civilian casualties in ground battles is proving who pulled the trigger. But the Taliban do not often engage in sustained gunfights with Afghan forces, given the greater numbers of those forces and their coalition allies.
Instead, bombs and targeted killings remain favored means to strike fear into civilians and Afghan fighters. In the last six months, the Taliban and others conducted more targeted killings than in the past, focusing on civilians they believe are aiding the government.
That tactic, the report said, reflects an awareness among the insurgents that government forces are growing stronger, requiring them to take more drastic measures to terrorize the population.
“The deliberate targeting of civilians appears to stem from a limited capacity of antigovernment elements to effectively engage security forces and gain tactical ground using lawful combat tactics,” the report said.
Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan Rise 23 Percent
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