A UN report has laid out the “horrible struggling endured by Afghan residents” all through 2020, regardless of peace talks going down, leaving the nation as one of many “deadliest locations on the planet” for a civilian.
Whereas figures state that the full variety of civilian casualties in 2020 (8,820) was 15 % decrease than the earlier 12 months, the knowledge exhibits that there was a big spike in civilian casualties within the remaining three months of the 12 months, after peace talks started within the nation.
The worldwide physique sees the continued violence because the devastating consequence of “events refusing to contemplate a ceasefire,” utilizing the report back to difficulty a renewed name for a break within the combating to permit peace talks to proceed uninterrupted.
UN Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned that the statistics present that Afghanistan nonetheless “stays among the many deadliest locations on the planet to be a civilian.”
This report marks the primary time for the reason that UN started documenting the violence that civilian casualties have spiked within the remaining few months of the 12 months, as figures rose 45 % in the course of the fourth quarter of 2020, in contrast with the identical time interval in 2019.
“This report paperwork the horrible struggling endured by Afghan civilians in 2020, a 12 months that might have moved Afghanistan nearer in the direction of peace,” UN Particular Consultant for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons mentioned in a press release.
Nevertheless, the Taliban issued a response on Tuesday that refuted the findings of the report, arguing that it did not take into consideration “the issues, exact info and correct particulars” that have been shared by the group.
Peace talks between the Afghan authorities and the Taliban began in Qatar in September 2020, marking the primary time that the militant group and authorities officers have held direct talks.
The US has performed a key function in brokering the peace talks and, in February 2020, a deal was signed between the Trump administration and the Taliban agreeing to convey peace to the area and finish virtually 20 years of battle. The deal would see America withdraw troops from the area inside 14 months and the Taliban minimize ties with Al-Qaeda and work to stop different militant extremists from seizing management of territory.
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