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More Children Dying in Afghanistan War, Says UN, with Death Toll Up 15 Percent
The number of children killed and injured in Afghanistan's war has increased in the first nine months of the year, 2016, compared to the previous year, said U.N. Assistance mission in a new report released Wednesday.
UN mission said it has documented 2,461 casualties among children in 2016 — 639 deaths and 1,822 wounded.
The statistic shows a 15 percent increase comparing to the last year, January-September 2015.
The mission voiced concern over the continuing increase in child casualties, which have risen every year since 2013.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, UNAMA documented 8,397 conflict-related civilian casualties with 2,562 deaths and 5,835 wounded. That represents a 1 percent decrease, compared to the same period in 2015, said the mission.
Suicide bombings and other attacks, including improvised explosive devices are the main reasons of civilian causalities.
"Increased fighting in densely populated areas makes it imperative for parties to take immediate steps to ensure all feasible precautions are being taken to spare civilians from harm," the report quoted Tadamichi Yamamoto, the U.N. chief's special representative for Afghanistan.
Casualties caused by pro-government forces rose 42 percent compared to last year, with 623 deaths and 1,274 injured, U.N. investigators reported.
That includes a spike of 72 percent in casualties from air strikes by the Afghan air force and its international allies.
At least 133 people were killed and 159 were injured in air strikes, with two-thirds of those casualties attributed to the Afghan air force, the U.N. said.
The deadliest areas for civilians are in the traditional Taliban heartland in the south, including Uruzgan, the deeply impoverished, mountainous province that claimed most of the 41 Australian Defense Force personnel who perished during Australia's combat mission in Afghanistan.
The U.N. report also documented numerous conflict-related incidents targeting health-care and educational facilities, as well as those providing humanitarian aid.
In terms of deaths and injuries, 2013 was the worst year of the war for Afghan women and children, with most of the casualties caused by either stepping on or driving over roadside bombs or getting caught in fighting.
But the deadliest year of the war were 2011 and 2016, when 3,133 civilians died as the Taliban launched a fierce pushback with roadside bombs and other attacks against the increased number of international forces who wrested back much of the territory controlled by the insurgents and in 2016 the bloody year for civilians when they marched in a protest for transferring power from central areas of the country.
Pakistan has said Islamabad is “deeply shocked” at the martyrdom of Afghanistan Acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani in an explosion on Wednesday afternoon.
Haqqani was martyred in an attack inside the ministry on Wednesday afternoon.
On Wednesday night, Ishaq Dar, Pakistan's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, said Islamabad “unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We are in touch with the Interim Afghan Government to ascertain further details.”
Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq also passed on his condolences.
He said: “The Government and people of Pakistan are deeply shocked and saddened by the cowardly terrorist attack in Kabul today, which targeted Alhaj Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, Acting Minister for Refugees.
“Pakistan stands in solidarity with Afghanistan in this hour of grief and reiterates its commitment to work with Afghanistan in fighting the menace of terrorism and promoting regional peace and stability.”
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has expressed its condolences over the martyrdom of the Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani’s, and said he was “a tireless Mujahid in the way of God".
On Wednesday evening, IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani’s martyrdom was a great loss for the government, the Mujahideen, his family and all Afghans.
“Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani spent his whole life in defense of God's religion in Jihad, migration and enduring hardships. He was one of the members of the great Jihadi family for which the enemies of Islam had set a five million dollars bounty on his head,” the statement read.
“Such a cowardly act cannot weaken the will of Muslims or lead the conspirators to their sinister goals against our strong Islamic system. Rather, such cowardly actions make the faces of the enemies of religion and Islam blacker and make their sinister intentions more obvious,” he said.
No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has expressed its condolences over the martyrdom of the Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani’s, and said he was “a tireless Mujahid in the way of God".
IEA’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani’s martyrdom was a great loss for the government, the Mujahideen, his family and all Afghans.
“Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani spent his whole life in defense of God's religion in Jihad, migration and enduring hardships. He was one of the members of the great Jihadi family for which the enemies of Islam had set a five million dollars bounty on his head,” the statement read.
“Such a cowardly act cannot weaken the will of Muslims or lead the conspirators to their sinister goals against our strong Islamic system. Rather, such cowardly actions make the faces of the enemies of religion and Islam blacker and make their sinister intentions more obvious,” he said.
The IEA stated that Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani’s was martyred, in a cowardly attack by “Khawarij”.
Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani was martyred in an suicide bombing that took place on Wednesday afternoon inside the ministry, but no further casualties have been reported yet.
Khalil Rahman Haqqani, 58, has been the acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation since September 7, 2021.
Afghan Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil Haqqani, was martyred in a suicide bombing that targeted the ministry in Kabul on Wednesday, a reliable source confirmed.
Speaking to Ariana News, the source said the explosion happened inside the ministry, which led to the martyrdom of Haqqani.
Khalil Rahman Haqqani, 58, has been the acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation since September 7, 2021.
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