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Thursday, September 26th, 2019

Afghan and U.S. Forces Blamed for Killing More Civilians This Year Than Taliban Have

Author:     Mujib Mashal
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     July 30, 2019
 Link: Afghan and U.S. Forces Blamed for Killing More Civilians This Year Than Taliban Have
Stephan:   We have been in Afghanistan for almost two decades, have spent a trillion dollars on war there rather than rebuilding our aging infrastructure or providing proper childcare or education. And what do we have to show for it? Here's the answer.

Afghan National Army soldiers in a military exercise at a base in Guzara district in Herat province.
Credit: Hoshang Hashimi/Agence France-Presse/Getty

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN  — Afghan security forces and their American-led international allies have killed more civilians so far this year than the Taliban have, the United Nations said in a report on Tuesday, once again raising alarm that ordinary Afghans are bearing the brunt of an increasingly deadly 18-year war.

In the first six months of the year, the conflict killed nearly 1,400 civilians and wounded about 2,400 more. Afghan forces and their allies caused 52 percent of the civilian deaths compared with 39 percent attributable to militants — mostly the Taliban, but also the Islamic State. The figures do not total 100 percent because responsibility for some deaths could not be definitively established.

The higher civilian death toll caused by Afghan and American forces comes from their greater reliance on airstrikes, which are particularly deadly for civilians. The United Nations said airstrikes resulted […]

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1 Comment

  1. Rev. Dean on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    Someone, I forget who, said a proverb: “never start a war in Afghanistan because you will never win”. I find it is factually true now as many have tried and all have failed.