The UN has warned that without a “significant de-escalation” in violence in Afghanistan, the year 2021 is on course to witness the highest number of documented civilian casualties in over a decade in the war-torn country.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s (UNAMA) Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict Midyear Update 2021 documents 5,183 civilian casualties (1,659 killed and 3,524 injured), a 47 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2020.

In the report, the United Nations warns that without a “significant de-escalation in violence Afghanistan is on course for 2021 to witness the highest ever number of documented civilian casualties in a single year since UNAMA records began” in 2009.

The report said that of serious concern is the acute rise in the number of civilians killed and injured in the period from May 1, as international military forces began their withdrawal and the fighting intensified following the Taliban’s offensive. Almost as many civilian casualties in the May-June period were recorded as in the entire preceding four months.

The number of civilian casualties during May and June – 2,392 in total (783 killed and 1,609 injured) – was the highest for those months since UNAMA began its systematic documentation in 2009. The period January-April 2021 saw 2,791 civilian casualties (876 killed and 1,915 injured), it said, amid withdrawal of US forces and the Taliban offensive.

“I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed of the conflict’s grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians. The report provides a clear warning that unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed,” Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons said.

The UN envoy, who is also the head of UNAMA, called on the Taliban and Afghan leaders to intensify efforts at the negotiating table, stop the Afghan against Afghan fighting.