Record Number of Children Casualties Increases by 10% in 2017

At least 700 children were killed in the first nine months of 2017 in Afghanistan which shows a ten percent increase compared to the last year, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said.

“Save the Children in Afghanistan urges the groups involved in the war, particularly the government to pay serious attention to children,” said Maryam Attayee, spokesperson of Save the Children.

Meanwhile, the Independent Human Rights Commission (IHRC) revealed a different statistics about children casualties in Afghanistan.

According to IHRC, at least 170 children were killed in the first six months of 2017, 1279 were wounded and 123 others were disappeared.

“We had over 5 thousand civilian casualties that 1449 of them are children,” said Bilal Sidiqi, spokesman of IHRC.

Sidiqi also called on parties involved in the war, especially the armed oppositions to not target civilians, particularly women and children.

Ninety percent of all civilian casualties resulted from ground engagements, improvised explosive devices, suicide attacks and targeted killings.

The war’s main killers remain improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ground engagements. However, a rise in suicide bombings and complex attacks also helps to explain why women and children suffer more than ever.