58 civilians killed in Afghanistan from October 23 to 27

The UNAMA said that the anti-government elements are responsible for the majority of civilian casualties which stands at 58 per cent.

Kabul: At least 58 civilians have been killed and 143 more injured in explosions and armed attacks in four provinces across Afghanistan from October 23-27, according to a survey.

The survey by Tolo News indicates the civilians were killed in Kabul, Ghazni, Khost and Zabul provinces. One of the attacks happened near a tutoring centre in Kabul on Saturday that killed more than thirty people — who were mostly students while 77 were injured.

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An attack took place in the Khost province on Tuesday that involved seven attackers with three explosive-laden vehicles leaving five civilians dead and 33 injured. On the same day, five civilians were killed and 13 others were injured in an explosion in Kabul.

The survey further reported that in Zabul, eight civilians were killed in two explosions according to the governor’s office and 10 civilians were killed in an explosion in the Ghazni province on Friday.

Tolo News further reported that 30 children were killed in the country in militant attacks in the last four days, according to Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

Hashem Nazari, a student who was also a victim of a recent attack in PD10 of Kabul city on Tuesday, died while he was on his way to school when the explosion took his life.

“He was on his way to school. A suicide attack happened at around 1:30pm. First, we thought that he is at school,” said the victim’s father to Tolo News. Ali Akbar, another victim of the attack, lost his life in the explosion.

Zabihullah Farhang, a spokesman for Afghan Human Rights Commission was quoted by Tolo News saying, “There is a dire need for a ceasefire. They must stop the further violation of the rights of the Afghan people.”

The UN mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) report released on Tuesday said that civilian casualty figure for the first nine months this year dropped by close to 30 per cent as compared to the same of 2019 adding that while the number of civilian casualties “is lowest” in the first nine months of any year since 2012, “the harm done to civilians remains inordinate and shocking.”

The UNAMA said that the anti-government elements are responsible for the majority of civilian casualties which stands at 58 per cent. The number of civilian deaths attributed to the anti-government agencies is at similar levels as compared to 2019.

The report said that the number of civilians killed attributed to the Taliban has increased by six per cent in the first nine months of 2020 adding that the number of casualties including killed and injured attributed to the Taliban overall dropped by 32 per cent “mainly due to a reduction in the number of civilians injured by suicide attacks and ground engagements”.