With record civilian casualties, critics take issue with pace of Western pullout
Afghans line up to apply for passports in Kabul on Sunday in a sign of increased fears among civilians. (SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP)
Revelations that Afghans are dying in record numbers as the country's civil conflicts intensify have exposed the pace of the United States' troop withdrawal to fresh scrutiny.
A report from the United Nations highlights the worsening impact on civilians of the escalation in fighting that has accompanied the pullout of US and other Western troops by Aug 31.
More children and women were killed and wounded in the mountainous West Asian country in the first half of 2021 than in the first six months of any year since the UN began keeping track in 2009, the UN report said.
With almost 1,700 civilians having been killed in the first half of 2021, former US president George W. Bush, who sent in the first of the US troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago, has voiced his concerns for ordinary Afghans and suggestions have been raised in US media that President Joe Biden should reconsider the timetable for the troop withdrawal.
US forces have been stationed in the country since 2001, following the terrorist attacks of Sept 11 that year. They and the remaining NATO troops are expected to leave within the next month, as their withdrawal is more than 95 percent complete.
The Taliban have stepped into the void, as the militant group attempts to seize control of the country from the Afghan military.
As a result, the US has temporarily stepped up its bombing campaign against the Taliban.
In an editorial published on its website on Monday, The Wall Street Journal said Biden may want to reconsider the timetable for the troop pullout.
"Mr Biden needs to adapt his withdrawal plan or risk a catastrophe that will mar his presidency," the editorial said.
'A mistake'
Bush, who switched his armed forces' attention to Iraq two years after sending the troops to Afghanistan, said earlier this month that the troop withdrawal was a mistake.
"I'm afraid Afghan women and girls are going to suffer unspeakable harm," he said in an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, adding that he was also concerned for translators and others who helped the foreign forces. "They're just going to be left behind to be slaughtered by these very brutal people, and it breaks my heart."
The war-ravaged country suffered a 47 percent increase in the number of all civilians killed and wounded in the first six months of the year compared with the same period last year, according to the report from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
In the midyear update, 1,659 civilians were reported killed and 3,254 wounded. Thirty-two percent were children－468 killed and 1,214 wounded. Fourteen percent of civilian casualties were women, with 219 were killed and 508 wounded, the report said.
"I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed of the conflict's grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians," said Deborah Lyons, the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan. "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."
The Taliban, which last month touted a "manifest victory and triumph" in a statement, said the Western withdrawal "will be the beginning of the end of the ills birthed by occupation".
They have captured significant territory in recent weeks, seized strategic border crossings with several neighboring countries and are threatening a number of provincial capitals.
The Taliban have said there won't be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in the capital Kabul, and President Ashraf Ghani is removed from office.
According to the report, the main cause of civilian casualties was improvised explosive devices, followed by fighting on the ground and targeted killings.
The UN is "gravely concerned that if intensive military action is undertaken in urban areas with high population densities, the consequences for Afghan civilians could be catastrophic", the report said.
Agencies contributed to this story.
hengweili@chinadailyusa.com