Nothing in Particular

The War in Afghanistan is Escalating, Not Ending

Many people are breathing a sigh of relief to see international combat troops leaving Afghanistan. All foreign combat forces are slated to withdraw by the end-2014 deadline, and many have already gone. Deaths among foreign troops have fallen reassuringly.

For Afghans, however, the war goes on. Many civilians are being injured and killed. More than 400 Afghan soldiers and police are dying each month. People are fleeing their homes – almost 60,000 of them in the first six months of 2013 – and many are trying desperately to get their families to safety outside the country. For them, there is no end in sight.

And in many respects, the war is escalating. A United Nations report released today shows a 23 percent increase in civilian casualties so far this year compared with the same period in 2012. Among the civilians hardest hit? Women and children. Civilian casualties of women caused by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) are up by a mind-boggling 138 percent over 2012, and overall civilian casualties of women are up by 61 percent, while injuries and deaths of children are up by 30 percent over 2012.

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