KABUL (Dispatches) – The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan reached a record in the first half of the year, despite last month's ceasefire, with a surge in attacks claimed by the Daesh terrorists group, the United Nations said on Sunday.
Deaths rose 1 percent to 1,692, although injuries dropped 5 percent to 3,430, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its latest civilian casualty report. Overall civilian casualties were down 3 percent.
Hopes that peace may one day be agreed in Afghanistan were raised last month by a three-day truce over the Eid al-Fitr holiday which saw unprecedented scenes of Taliban fighters mingling with security forces in Kabul and other cities.
"The brief ceasefire demonstrated that the fighting can be stopped and that Afghan civilians no longer need to bear the brunt of the war," Tadamichi Yamamoto, the senior UN official in Afghanistan said in a statement.
But with heavy fighting seen across the country during the first half the year and repeated attacks in Kabul and major provincial cities like Jalalabad, the report underlines the dire security situation facing Afghanistan.
It also pointed to increased activity by Daesh, reflected in a doubling in casualties in Nangarhar, the eastern province whose capital is Jalalabad, where the terrorist group has conducted a series of attacks over recent months.
Daesh has also taken advantage of the ongoing chaos in Afghanistan to establish a foothold in the country and recruited some of its members from among Taliban defectors.
Dozens of Taliban militants killed in Kunduz
Meanwhile, Afghan government forces killed at least 36 members of the Taliban militant group in the country’s northern province of Kunduz on Saturday evening.
Abdul Baqi Noristani, the provincial police chief, said the militants were killed during Afghan security forces’ airstrikes and ground operations in Chardara district of Kunduz, adding that at least ten other militants were also wounded.
The Kunduz police chief said several Taliban hideouts were targeted and the militants suffered heavy casualties during the Afghan airstrikes.
Noristani did not offer details about potential casualties among Afghan civilians or security forces.