UNAMA raises concerns over escalating violence in Kandahar

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has voiced its concerns about the escalating violence and civilians casualties in southern Kandahar province.

The organization said in a tweet on Friday that more than 230 civilians have been wounded since 16 July in the province, noting that the numbers could be much higher.

“Deeply concerned by escalating violence in and around Kandahar amidst ongoing Taliban attacks on city…Credible reports of scores of civilians killed. Working to establish facts on civilian harm,” UNAMA tweeted.

UNAMA has also warned of the grave consequences to civilians in Kandahar “if the fighting continues and intensifies in urban areas of the city.”

Meanwhile, UNAMA has also called on the warring parties “to exercise maximum restraint and take all possible measures to protect civilians from further harm.”

This comes days after the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in Afghanistan reported that the ongoing armed clashes, airstrikes, improvised explosive device (IED) detonations, and shelling have inflicted a high number of casualties on civilians, including women and children.

More than 700 civilians were killed and wounded over the last couple of weeks, the UNOCHA reported citing provincial health officials.