UN Mission In Afghanistan Sees No Drop In Civilian Deaths Caused By Taliban, Army

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has seen no drop in civilian deaths caused by either the Taliban or the country's armed forces, despite the signing of a US-Taliban peace deal and attempts to begin intra-Afghan talks, according to a report released on Monday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2020) The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has seen no drop in civilian deaths caused by either the Taliban or the country's armed forces, despite the signing of a US-Taliban peace deal and attempts to begin intra-Afghan talks, according to a report released on Monday.

From January 1 to June 30, UNAMA registered 1,282 civilian deaths in Afghanistan, and a further 2,176 people suffered injuries. The mission said that this figure was a 13 percent drop year-on-year, but added that the reduction in deaths has not been caused by either the Taliban or the Afghan army curbing violence.

"The overall number of civilian casualties represents a 13 per cent decrease as compared to the same time period last year, and the lowest figure since 2012.

UNAMA welcomes the reduction but notes that it was mainly due to a drop in civilian casualties attributed to the international military forces as well as to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - Khorasan Province [terrorist group, banned in Russia]," UNAMA said.

Significant civilian casualties were registered throughout the first half of the year despite a ceasefire over the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in May and pledges to reduce violence ahead of the US-Taliban peace agreement, which was signed on February 29.

UNAMA reiterated its calls for the commencement of peace talks between the government in Kabul and the militant organization. Despite the February peace deal, bilateral talks have yet to commence amid disagreements over the mutual release of prisoners by both sides.