Off the wire
• Mozambique's main opposition party considers extending truce with government  • Albania fails in third attempt to elect new president  • UN chief appoints panel head to investigate use of chemicals weapons in Syria  • British FTSE 100 decreases 0.71 pct  • Croatian PM rules out early election  • Over 350 Ukrainian cities join Silk Road Cities Alliance  • S. African Airways resumes normal operations after cabin crew strike  • Pentagon investigates Trump's ousted ex-adviser Flynn over foreign payments  • Spanish stock market falls 0.74 pct  • Italy's business confidence improves, consumer confidence falls slightly  
You are here: 　 Home

UN urges protection of Afghan civilians as causalities remain high

Xinhua, April 27, 2017 Adjust font size:

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday urged all parties to the conflict to better protect civilians from harm.

UNAMA urged all parties to the conflict "to take immediate and concrete measures" to better protect civilians from harm, as the latest data for 2017 shows "continued high numbers of civilian casualties," said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the head of UNAMA, in a press release.

"It is civilians, with increasing numbers of women and children, who far too often bear the brunt of the conflict," said Yamamoto.

"With the so-called fighting season imminent, I appeal to all parties to take every measure possible to prevent unnecessary and unacceptable harm to Afghan civilians," he said.

The mission documented 148 civilian casualties, 72 dead and 76 injured, from aerial operations, a disturbing increase compared to 29 civilian casualties, eight dead and 21 injured, in the first quarter of 2016.

UNAMA is extremely concerned by increases in both child and women civilian casualties, he said, adding that the Mission recorded a 24 percent increase to 273 women civilian casualties, 88 dead and 185 injured. Endit