Govt. forces cause civilian deaths in Afghanistan: UN

KABUL, Afghanistan

The UN mission in Afghanistan on Wednesday expressed concerns over rising civilian casualties caused by pro-government forces during the first quarter of 2019.

Some 608 civilian casualties (305 deaths and 303 injured) were caused by pro-government forces, surpassing for the first time those caused by the Taliban and other militants.

The UN report documented 1,773 civilian casualties this year, compared to 2,305 from last year.

The overall reduction was driven by a decrease in civilian casualties by suicide improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, the report says.

The mission noted that the harsh winter during the first three months of the year could have contributed to this trend.

The single-most factor causing casualties this year was air- and land-based search operations.

Afghanistan has been rocked by conflict for the last 17 years when U.S. troops entered the South Asian nation to fight the Taliban.