1600 civilian casualties in east this year

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): More than 1,600 civilians suffered casualties as a result of the ongoing conflict in eastern Afghanistan that ends on March 21, a senior human rights official said on Wednesday.

Sabrina Hamidi, Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) head for the eastern zone, was talking to Pajhwok Afghan News on the sidelines of a gathering marking Human Rights Day (Dec 10) in Jalalabad.

The event was attended by Deputy Governor Mohammad Hanif Gardiwal, Information and Culture Director Orang Samim and a number provincial officials and civil society activists.

Hamidi said there had been no exclusive decline in civilian casualties in the eastern zone during the first nine months of the current year. “This year, 1606 civilians have suffered casualties, which included 401 fatalities and the rest were injured,” she said.

However, she said there had been some improvements in education sectors and the freedom of expression.

“This is true most of the incidents involving civilian casualties have been registered. The level of registration increases with increase in our activities.”

Hamidi said 195 incidents of voilence against women had been recorded during the past nine months. Most of the cases had been addressed and the remaining being resolved, she said.

She said Nangarhar stood first in cases of violence, followed by Laghman and than Kunar.

The Human Rights Day was marked a day after four civilians were killed after being kidnapped by armed insurgents in the Haskamina district of Nangarhar.

ma/mud