The security situation in Afghanistan remains volatile, as civilian casualties are on the rise and the peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban is quite shaky, says a United Nations report.
In a recently released report, titled “The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security,” Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, acknowledged that the war-torn country is far from peaceful and stable since the withdrawal of NATO combat troops in December 2014.
The UN Secretary-General, however, praised the role of the Afghan security forces during last year’s presidential elections and their efforts to “thwart the efforts of anti-government elements.”
Despite some security gains last year, the UN recorded 22,051 security incidents in 2014, which surpassed those of 2013 by 10 per cent. “In terms of incidents recorded over the past 13 years, 2014 was the second-highest, after 2011. Of those incidents, 68 percent were recorded in southern, southeastern and eastern regions, with NangarharProvince being the most volatile and recording 13 percent of the incidents,” said the report.
In a briefing to the UN Security Council, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Nicholas Haysom, also expressed the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s (UNAMA) concerns about the rise in civilian deaths in the South Asian nation.
“UNAMA documented over 10,000 civilian casualties in 2014, the highest annual number of civilian casualties recorded since UNAMA began systematic monitoring in 2009. The rise in civilian casualties resulted mainly from increased ground engagements in which Afghan forces and insurgents used indirect fire in and on civilian populated areas,” said Haysom, adding that parties to the conflict must understand the impact of their actions and take responsibility for them.