UN: 1,366 Afghan civilians killed in 6 months

1,366 civilians were killed in Afghanistan during the first six months of 2019, 2446 were wounded. Report informs citing the RIA Novosti that this is stated by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

In that period, the Taliban and other armed groups caused the majority of civilian casualties, but Afghan and NATO-led forces were responsible for more civilian killings, it said.

The pro-government forces killed 717 civilians and wounded 680, representing a 31 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2018.

"Everyone heard the message loud and clear from Afghan delegates in the Doha talks - 'reduce civilian casualties to zero!'," said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the head of UNAMA.

The main cause of death remains ground operations. At the same time, people are also dying from air operations conducted by government troops.