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NATO, Afghan forces kill more civilians than Taliban
What the hell are we even doing there any more?
[DW] Afghan civilians were killed in greater numbers by NATO and pro-government security forces in the first three months of 2019 than by armed militants, according to UN figures.
It's the first time that fatalities caused by security forces in Afghanistan have exceeded those caused by the Taliban.
What you need to know:
- In the first quarter of 2019, pro-government forces were responsible for the deaths of 305 civilians, while insurgents killed 227.
- The leading causes of civilian deaths were air strikes (145 fatalities) and ground search operations primarily carried out by US-backed Afghan forces (72).
- Women and children comprised half of civilian casualties from aerial operations, with international forces responsible for the vast majority of these.
- Overall, 581 civilians were killed and 1,192 wounded, representing a 23 percent decrease in overall casualties on the same quarter last year.
| Recall yesterday’s headline from the domestic Khaama Press: UN reports reduction in civilian casualties in Afghanistan in first quarter of 2019. Also, remember that according to the Geneva Conventions — to which the Taliban, et al are not signatories, but nonetheless — those who surround themselves with human shields are responsible for what happens to them. Not those who have to go through the shields to get to their military targets. Finally, it’s cute that the statistics are limited to the Taliban, when there are so many other bad guys killing people in Afghanistan, some of them directly employed (deployed?) by Pakistan’s ISI: the TTP, Haqqani Group, ISIS-Afghanistan, various local warlords, various Al Qaeda-linked jihadi groups, various drug lords... Here at Rantburg we’ve had reports of at least some of all that, most recently the feud between ISIS and the Taliban in Nangarhar. |
Posted by: Herb McCoy 2019-04-26 |
