KABUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has urged warring sides in Afghanistan to take further measures for better protection of civilians from harm in the war-hit country, said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday.
"In the first quarter of 2017, UNAMA documented 2,181 civilian casualties (715 dead and 1,466 injured), a 4 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2016. Civilian deaths decreased by 2 percent while civilian injuries decreased by 5 percent," it said in a statement.
"It is civilians, with increasing numbers of women and children, who far too often bear the brunt of the conflict," Tadamichi Yamamoto, special UN envoy and head of UNAMA, was quoted in the statement.
The ground engagements continued to cause most civilian casualties, followed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as well as suicide and complex attacks.
"With the so-called fighting season imminent, I appeal to all parties to take every measure possible to prevent unnecessary and unacceptable harm to Afghan civilians," said Yamamoto.
"During an armed conflict, the intentional killing and injuring of civilians is a war crime," said Yamamoto, adding that "anti-government elements must stop this deplorable practice and everybody must apply and respect the definition of 'civilian provided by international humanitarian law."
The UNAMA also expressed concerns by increases in both children and women casualties in the first three months of the year.
A total of 88 women were killed and 185 wounded while 210 children lost their lives and 525 injured across the country over the period.
The Taliban and other insurgent groups were responsible for 62 percent of the civilian casualties and security forces were responsible for 21 percent for death and injuries to the non-combatants over the period, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, 9 percent of casualties took place during ground engagement for which responsible party could not be determined and the rest 8 percent were caused by unattributed unexploded ordnance, the UNAMA data said.
