Afghan casualties from airstrikes rise up 39 percent – UN

The number of Afghans killed or wounded by airstrikes rose 39 percent in the first nine months of 2018, the UN said Wednesday. The overall number of civilian casualties remained at “extreme levels,” it said. Airstrikes killed or wounded 649 Afghans, more than any full-year period since the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) began keeping records in 2009, as US and Afghan forces stepped up aerial bombardments, AFP reported. That figure accounted for eight percent of overall civilian casualties for the January to September period, which slipped to 8,050 - 2,798 dead and 5,252 injured. according to UNAMA. International forces accounted for 51 percent of the civilian casualties caused by airstrikes, the report said, adding that Afghan forces made up 38 percent.