UNAMA has found that the number of civilians killed and injured in the first three months of 2021 was significantly higher than a year ago.

In its first quarter report on the Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict 2021, UNAMA stated that 1,783 civilian casualties (573 killed and 1,210 injured) were recorded in the first three months of this year – a 29 percent increase against the same period last year.

UNAMA stated that extraordinary levels of harm inflicted on civilians in the Afghan conflict continues unabated and that “of particular concern is the 37 percent increase in the number of women killed and injured, and a 23 percent increase in child casualties compared with the first quarter of 2020”.

Deborah Lyons, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan said: “The number of Afghan civilians killed and maimed, especially women and children, is deeply disturbing. I implore the parties to urgently find a way to stop this violence.”

UNAMA stated that the start of peace talks in September last year raised hopes for an improvement in the situation for civilians but in the six months between October 2020 and March 2021, UNAMA recorded a 38 percent increase in civilian casualties compared with the same period one year earlier.

“Every possible opportunity for peace must be seized. If levels of violence are not immediately reduced, thousands of Afghan civilians will continue to be killed and injured by fellow Afghans in 2021,” said Lyons, who is also head of UNAMA.

The overall increase in civilian casualties in the first quarter of 2021 was mainly driven by the same trends that caused the increase at the end of last year: ground engagements; improvised explosive devices; and targeted killings, UNAMA stated.

Anti-Government Elements continued to be responsible for the majority (61 percent) of all civilian casualties in the first three months of 2021, while Pro-Government Forces continued to cause approximately one quarter (27 percent) of the total civilian casualties.

In the first three months of 2021, UNAMA documented increases in the number of civilian casualties as compared to the first quarter of 2020, attributed to both the Afghan National Army, and the Taliban, with the Taliban responsible for 43.5 percent of all civilian casualties, and the Afghan National Army responsible for 17 percent.

UNAMA also stated it remains deeply concerned about the continued deliberate targeting of civilians by Anti-Government Elements, particularly through targeted killings – against civilians including media workers, civil society activists, members of the judiciary and the civilian government administration, including a particularly worrying trend of targeting of women.

“UNAMA reminds Anti-Government Elements that the deliberate targeting of civilians is prohibited under international law and constitutes a war crime. The mission urges Anti-Government Elements to apply a definition of civilian that accords with international law and to immediately cease all targeting of civilians,” the report read.