Afghanistan war: Alarming spike in civilian deaths

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - A resurging pattern of mounting civilian casualties in war-ravaged Afghanistan ahead of the usual spring fighting season coupled with a stalled peace process has been spreading fears of the worst to come.

The Afghan Solar Hijri calendar begins with Nevroz -- the Persian new year -- on March 21 bringing an end to the harsh winter and the beginning of the new fighting season in the war-ravaged country.

However, amid evident rush on the part of the U.S. for talks with the Taliban to end the longest American war in its 18th year, the warring sides in Afghanistan have visibly adopted a fierce offensive posture to gain the upper hand.

As the Taliban make inroads with large scale coordinated assaults particularly in the uncharted northern parts, the Afghan forces backed by the U.S. air power have entered Taliban’s long-held bastions in the south with mounting clean-up operations on the ground and from the air.

- Civilians caught in flared-up violence

Figures compiled by Anadolu Agency indicate at least 90 civilians caught in the cross-fire, air raids and bomb blasts have been killed in the month of March alone.

In one such incident on the outskirts of the capital Kabul, at least five civilians, including four women and child, were killed in Surobi in an operation by Afghan forces supported by foreign troops on Tuesday.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, among others, expressed concern.

"UNAMA concerned by pattern of mounting civilian deaths from joint international & Afghan search & aerial ops [...] More needs to be done & quickly to stem growing harm to civilians #Afghanistan”, the agency tweeted.

Atiq Rehman, a defense analyst, told Anadolu Agency that unlike many of his predecessors, the new hawkish Defense Minister Assadullah Khalid is much more aggressive in his pursuit of the insurgents.

"Without doubt the armed engagements, air raids and night operations are back in full force against the insurgents, which have naturally resulted in rise in civilian casualties and fears among the insurgents," Rehman said.

Khalid has served as governor in a number of restive southern provinces as well as serving as intelligence chief of the country before his current post. He has survived a number of attempts on his life, too.

In his inaugural speech earlier this year, Khalid told a charged gathering of the soldiers that their mission would no longer be only sitting on the defensive to thwart the insurgent attacks.

"For too long, our forces had the slogan of 'Sar Warkao, Sangar Na Warkawo' [in Pashto: 'We would die, but not surrender'], but with all due respect to this old slogan, now our slogan would be 'Sar Ye Waho, Sangar Tre Nes' [in Pashto: 'We would kill them, and capture their bastions']”, he vowed.

- Night operations, air raids back

Under Khalid, the Afghan forces have intensified the infamous night operations as well as air raids.

The previous year has already been dubbed as the deadliest in the Afghan conflict by UNAMA since it started keeping records.

With a record 3,804 civilians killed in Afghanistan conflict in 2018 - a clear indicator of intensification of violence - the UN has called for urgent need to seize opportunities for peace here.

Figures showed that there was a brief respite in the casualty figures in February, when at least 700 people were killed -- civilians, security forces and insurgents -- in comparison to January when over 900 lives were lost on all sides.

Liam McDowall, UNAMA director of strategic communications, told Anadolu Agency that the impact of the conflict on civilians are deeply concerning.

"2018 witnessed the highest number ever recorded of civilians killed. All parties are responsible for civilian casualties, with the Taliban and Islamic State being consistently responsible for around two-thirds of non-combatants killed or injured," he said.

He also acknowledged the trend of civilian casualties in air raids is on the rise.

"Last year the UN documented a sharp rise in the number of civilians killed or injured by aerial operations conducted by both international military and Afghan forces. The air operations accounted for less than 10 percent of overall civilian casualties in 2018 but the current trend is that that figure is rising."

The U.S. and the Taliban are set to resume talks in Doha, Qatar later this month with no clear signs of participation of the Afghan government in the crucial negotiations.