Kabul: The number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan in 2015 was the highest recorded since 2009, the UN said in a new report Sunday, with children paying a particularly heavy price.
There were 11,002 civilian casualties in 2015 including 3,545 deaths, the UN said in its annual report on civilians in armed conflict, a four percent rise over the previous high in 2014.
"The harm done to civilians is totally unacceptable," said Nicholas Haysom, the UN's special representative for Afghanistan.
"We call on those inflicting this pain on the people of Afghanistan to take concrete action to protect civilians and put a stop to the killing and maiming."
Fighting and attacks in populated areas and major cities were described as the main causes of civilian deaths in 2015, underscoring a push by Taliban militants into urban centres "with a high likelihood of causing civilian harm", the report stated.
The UN began compiling the annual report in 2009.
Including Taliban-claimed attacks, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan assigned responsibility for 62 percent of total civilian casualties in 2015 to anti-government elements.
But the report also noted a surge in casualties caused by pro-government forces, including the Afghan army and international troops.
Seventeen percent of all casualties in 2015 were caused by such forces a 28 percent increase over 2014 the report said. It was not possible to say which side caused the remaining 21 percent of casualties.
The report criticised Afghan forces in particular for their reliance on explosives in populated areas.
"Why did they fire this rocket? Why was it necessary?" the father of a man killed in shelling in a village in Wardak province in December was quoted as saying in the report.
Nine people died in that attack, according to the report, highlighting the dangers to civilians during ground engagements.
"Can you imagine how difficult it is when your son is lying in his own blood and you are crying for him?" the father asks in the report.
Vulnerable paying the price
One in every four casualties was a child, with the report documenting a 14 percent increase in child casualties over the year.
Women also paid a heavy price, with a 37 percent surge in female casualties. One in every ten casualties recorded was a woman, the report said.
The document highlighted an increase in women being targeted for moral crimes, calling the executions and lashings a "disturbing trend", and saying the UN plans to release a separate report on such incidents soon.
Chillingly, the report documented a doubling of civilian casualties due to the deliberate targeting by militants of judges, prosecutors and judicial institutions. There were 188 such cases last year, of which 46 involved fatalities.
The Taliban claimed 95 percent of such targeted attacks, the report said.
While ground engagements were the largest cause of civilian casualties, improvised explosive devices came second, the report said, adding that the use of such weaponry was in violation of international law and could constitute war crimes.
It reflects "a disconnect between commitments made and the harsh reality on the ground", said the director of the UN's human rights mission in Afghanistan, Danielle Bell.
