Latest stats: most civvie cas caused by Taliban

[jollyjacktar]

And yet, the bastards still have great support from the great unwashed there.  :not-again:

 

[ModlrMike]

And yet, the bastards still have great support from the great unwashed there.  :not-again:

And here!

 

[The Bread Guy]

And yet, the bastards still have great support from the great unwashed there.  :not-again:

I've wondered about that, too, especially with statements from Karzai & Co. seemingly bashing ISAF far more than the Taliban for mistakes.

Wonder if that's because Afghans are more afraid of the Taliban because they aren't leaving anytime soon?

 

[jollyjacktar]

I've wondered about that, too, especially with statements from Karzai & Co. seemingly bashing ISAF far more than the Taliban for mistakes.

Wonder if that's because Afghans are more afraid of the Taliban because they aren't leaving anytime soon?

There was a story in the Daily Mail earlier this week that indicated the Taliban are sitting pretty with a pretty strong support base in the country.  They, (both the Taliban and their peeps) were just waiting for the West to bugger off.  Then Afghanistan would fall forever.  I don't know, down south they are all Pashtun and seem to be related to these things in one way or another.  Maybe we've been fooling ourselves that we were making a tangible difference.  Maybe what we've been has been a hand in a bucket of water, lots of splashing and noise but remove the hand and within seconds it's like the hand was never there.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Wonder if that's because Afghans are more afraid of the Taliban because they aren't leaving anytime soon?

Think first Gulf War andnthe Kurds.

The minute ISAF either pulls out or makes a deal with the new and improved and friendly Taliban, the Taliban are going to start getting some serious pay back.
Chop chop.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Watch for a Taliban "the U.N. isn't really impartial about these things" statement soon....

Sure enough - see attached .....

 

[Kalatzi]

Kinda like during Nam. Take US claims of NV Losses and divide by 4

and NV Claims of US losses and divide by 10 and you might have a rough idea of what actually happened

In War the first casualty is truth.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Highlights mine....

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) expresses its strong concerns that conflict-related violence continues to kill and injure many Afghan women, men and children throughout the country. 2011 marked the fifth year in a row that civilian casualties increased in the armed conflict in Afghanistan. UNAMA documented 3,021 civilian deaths in 2011 with 77 per cent of all civilian deaths attributed to anti-Government elements and 14 per cent to pro-Government forces - Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and international forces. 

While UNAMA has documented a 21 per cent decrease in civilian casualties over the first four months of 2012 in comparison with the same period in 2011, civilian casualties continue to occur at unacceptably high levels. From 1 January to 30 April 2012, UNAMA recorded 579 civilian deaths and 1,216 injuries (79 per cent of all civilian casualties were attributed to anti-Government elements with nine per cent attributed to pro-Government forces and 12 per cent unattributed). 

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used by anti-Government elements remain the biggest killer of civilians in Afghanistan causing 31 per cent of all Afghan civilian deaths. UNAMA reiterates its strong demand on the Anti-Government Elements to stop using victim-activated pressure plate IEDs and publicly commit to banning the use of these illegal and indiscriminate weapons. In the context of transition, IEDs will continue to present major medium and long-term potential for causing devastating harm to civilians, with Afghan National Security Forces taking on the leading role in IED prevention, site exploitation and disposal. To support this effort, UNAMA called on NATO, particularly signatory States to Amended Protocol II1 of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons to dedicate additional resources to ensure effective, centralized management of counter-IED and IED disposal throughout the transition period. ANSF supported by the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) have already commenced work to develop a holistic Government counter-IED strategy ....

UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan Info-machine, 31 May 12

 

[The Bread Guy]

Highlights mine....

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemns the killing of at least 18 women in Dawlatabad District, Balkh on 19 October 2012. The deaths occurred early in the morning when a civilian bus taking guests to a wedding celebration drove over a pressure plate improvised explosive device (IED) planted on a busy public road. Another 15 civilians were injured, including six children, seven women and two men. No combatant casualties were reported.

UNAMA offers its condolences to the families of those killed and wishes a speedy recovery for those injured.

Taliban operatives active in Dawlatabad District, Balkh are suspected of planting the anti-personnel landmine-like pressure plate IED, which is consistent with documented patterns and tactics of choice by the Taliban. Although the Taliban through its leader Mullah Omar banned the use of anti-personnel landmines in 1998 denouncing such weapons as “un-Islamic” and “anti-human”, anti-Government elements continue to use these landmine-like IEDs with devastating harm to civilians.

UNAMA calls on the Taliban leadership to publicly reiterate a ban on these weapons and to stop their use.

IEDs are by far the biggest killer of civilians in Afghanistan’s armed conflict. UNAMA’s tracking of civilian casualties reveals that IEDs killed 340 civilians and injured a further 599 over the past nine months (1 January to 30 September 2012), an increase of almost 30 per cent compared to the same period last year. The majority of IEDs used in Afghanistan are victim-activated pressure plate IEDs and cause the most civilian deaths and injuries.

Victim-activated pressure plate IEDs function like massive anti-personnel land mines, which are a prohibited weapon under international law. These IEDs are particularly harmful as they fail to distinguish between military and civilian targets and can be detonated by any person, including children stepping on them or any vehicle driving over them.

“Any use of this heinous weapon should cease immediately,” said Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan. “I repeat once again UNAMA’s many calls to all anti-Government elements to protect and respect the lives of all Afghan civilians.” ....

UNAMA Info-machine, 20 Oct 12

 

[The Bread Guy]

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report released yesterday that the conflict in Afghanistan continued to take an “unacceptable toll” on civilians and a rise in civilian casualties in the last three months was of “great concern”.

In his latest quarterly report to the United Nations Security Council, Mr. Ban said civilian casualties increased by 28 per cent between 1 August and 31 October this year, compared to the same period in 2011, in contrast to a downward trend recorded in the first six months of 2012. Overall, in the first 10 months of 2012, a 4 per cent decline in civilian deaths and injuries was recorded.

The report attributed the vast majority of 2,557 civilian casualties (84 per cent, up from 70 per cent for the same period in 2011) from August to October to anti-Government elements.

“Insurgents are intimidating communities and individuals as a deliberate tactic to extend influence and control, targeting those who challenge their authority or ideas,” the UN chief said in his report. “I reiterate demands for an immediate halt to their use and call upon insurgent leaders to publicly repudiate such tactics.” ....

UNAMA Info-machine, 14 Jan 12

 

[ModlrMike]

“I reiterate demands for an immediate halt to their use and call upon insurgent leaders to publicly repudiate such tactics.” ....

In other words: stop or I'll say stop again.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Stand by for a Taliban statement claiming "lies, all lies!"....

The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan’s armed conflict dropped for the first time since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) started documenting the trend in 2007, said a UN report released in Kabul today.

(....)

In 2012, UNAMA recorded 7,559 civilian casualties - 2,754 civilian deaths and 4,805 civilian injuries. In total, 81 per cent of civilian casualties were attributed to anti-Government elements, 8 per cent to pro-Government forces and 11 per cent could not be attributed to any party to the conflict.

(....)

UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan Info-machine, 19 Feb 13

 

[The Bread Guy]

From the UNAMA info-machine - highlights mine....

Afghanistan saw a 23 per cent rise in the number of civilian casualties over the first six months of 2013 compared to last year, with the majority caused by the increased use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to the latest Mid-Year Report on the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Afghanistan released today by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) .... UNAMA documented 1,319 civilian deaths and 2,533 injuries in the first half of 2013, marking increases of 14 per cent in deaths and 28 per cent in injuries over the same period in 2012. This rise reverses the decline observed in 2012 and suggested a return to the trend of 2011 when high numbers of civilian deaths and injuries were documented.

The report attributes 74 per cent of all civil casualties to actions taken by Anti-Government Elements, a rise of 16 per cent over the same period last year 2012. Pro-Government forces were found responsible for nine percent of casualties, 12 per cent of the casualties were unattributed and resulted from ground engagements between Pro-Government Forces and Anti-Government Elements and the remaining five per cent were unattributed, resulting mostly from unexploded ordnance.

(....)

Of the documented casualties, the report observes that the main factor driving the increase were the use of IEDs, responsible for 35 per cent of deaths and injuries. Altogether 443 civilians were killed and 917 were injured from IEDs, a 34 per cent increase over the same period in 2012. Tactics involving IEDs, including suicide and complex attacks, accounted for 52 per cent of all civilian casualties documented by UNAMA ....

A bit more in the news conference transcript here.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Usual caveat:  don't click on a Taliban web site link if you don't want their webmeister to get information about your computer (that's why there's an alternate, non-terrorist link as well).

Taliban:  it's not us, really!

.... It is worth mentioning that the enemy has been spreading misinformation about civilian casualties. Some entities, who claim to be neutral, publish reports based on these distorted reports. In fact, civilian casualties are caused by the enemy itself. Occasionally, when a Mujahid is found being careless as regards the prevention of the civilians casualties, he must be referred to the leadership after identification for handing over to the judicial courts ....

Latest Taliban statement - link to screen capture at Google Drive

 

[The Bread Guy]

This from the U.N.:

.... UNAMA attributed 74 percent of civilian deaths and injuries to Anti-Government Elements,28 11 percent to Pro-Government Forces (eight percent to Afghan national security forces and three percent to international forces) and ten percent to ground engagements between Anti-Government Elements and Pro-Government Forces. The remaining five percent of civilian casualties were unattributed, resulting mainly from explosive remnants of war ....

Taliban's denial attached - enjoy!