The number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan in 2015 was the highest recorded since 2009, the UN said in a new report Sunday, with children paying a particularly heavy price.
There were 11,002 civilian casualties in 2015 including 3,545 deaths, the UN said in its annual report on civilians in armed conflict, a four percent rise over the previous high in 2014.
"The harm done to civilians is totally unacceptable," said Nicholas Haysom, the UN's special representative for Afghanistan.
"We call on those inflicting this pain on the people of Afghanistan to take concrete action to protect civilians and put a stop to the killing and maiming."
Fighting and attacks in populated areas and major cities were described as the main causes of civilian deaths in 2015, underscoring a push by Taliban militants into urban centers "with a high likelihood of causing civilian harm", the report stated.