Afghanistan’s civilian casualties at record high in July-September, UN says

The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan spiked to a quarterly high of 4,313 from July to September of this year, the UN’s Assistance Mission UNAMA said in a report published on Thursday.

“From 1 July to 30 September 2019, UNAMA documented 4,313 civilian casualties (1,174 deaths and 3,139 injured). This is the highest number of civilian casualties UNAMA has recorded in a single quarter since it began systematic documentation in 2009,” the report said​​​.

The first nine months of 2019 saw 2,563 civilians killed and 5,676 others injured, which is a similar level of violence as in the same period starting from 2014, the year when the US ended its military campaign in the country.

Almost a half of the casualties were caused by bombings, while ground engagements were the second leading cause, followed by airstrikes.