(UN News) – Civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose by 14% last year, according to a new report released on Saturday by the United Nations, which also found that it was the worst year since 2009 in terms of the number of women and children killed or injured as a result of conflict-related violence. UNAMA documented 561 children killed and 1,195 injured in 2013, an increase of 34% compared to the previous year. IEDs caused the most child casualties, killing 192 and injuring another 319, followed by ground engagements. “It is particularly alarming that the number of Afghan women and children killed and injured in the conflict increased again in 2013,” said the Director of Human Rights for UNAMA, Georgette Gagnon. “It is the awful reality that most women and children were killed and injured in their daily lives – at home, on their way to school, working in the fields or traveling to a social event.”
