Last August, PeacePundit summarized a United Nations report indicating that although 2008 was the most lethal year for Afghan civilians since the war started in 2001 (2118 total, according to the UN), 2009 was on track to break 2008′s grisly record.
Unfortunately, the trend held through the end of 2009. According to the Human Rights Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 2412 Afghan civilians were killed in armed conflict in Afghanistan in 2009, 14% more than in 2008. An additional 3566 civilians were injured and an unknown number were orphaned, displaced, or made homeless by the fighting.
The UNAMA report attributes the high number of civilian casualties to intensification and spreading of the conflict, which also caused higher US and NATO troop casualties: 520 for 2009 compared to 295 for 2008. Counts of insurgent casualties are not provided in the report.
One positive sign, if any news from Afghanistan can be considered positive, is that despite the overall increase in civilian deaths, the number and proportion of them caused by US and NATO forces fell in 2009 from 828 (39% of total) to 596 (25% of total), after remaining relatively stable from 2007 to 2008. This may be attributable to an increased emphasis on protecting civilian lives ordered by Lt. General Stanley McCrystal, whom President Obama appointed last year as the new commander of US forces in Afghanistan, and by NATO’s military command. Of course, 596 civilian deaths is 596 too many, but at least the trend is in the right direction.
UNAMA officials called upon both sides, but especially the Taliban and other insurgent forces, to take more care to avoid civilian casualties.
Afghan Civilian Casualties, 2006 – 2009 (source: UNAMA reports)
| Year | Total Deaths | Deaths by Insurgent Action | Deaths by US/NATO Action | Unassigned Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 929 | 699 (75%) | 230 (25%) | 0 (0%) | n/a |
| 2007 | 1523 | 700 (46%) | 629 (41%) | 194 (13%) | n/a |
| 2008 | 2118 | 1160 (55%) | 828 (39%) | 130 (6%) | n/a |
| 2009 | 2412 | 1630 (68%) | 596 (25%) | 186 (8%) | 3566 |
| Totl | 6982 | 4189 (60%) | 2283 (33%) | 510 (7%) | n/a |
[Read UNAMA's Full 36-page 2009 Report]
Related Previous PeacePundit Posts
- Ten Reasons a Troop Surge in Afghanistan is a Mistake
- Afghan Civilian Deaths in First Half of 2009 Higher than in 2008
- Afghan Civilian Deaths: Good News (maybe) and Bad News
- Update on May 4-5 Afghan Airstrike Incident
- Memo to Obama, Clinton, and Gates: Stop Digging!
- 2118 Afghan Civilian Deaths in 2008
- Don’t Call It “Collateral Damage”
- Child Casualties Are Not Acceptable
