Security has drastically deteriorated in Afghanistan. Insurgents’ planned attacks that include suicide/roadside bombings, target killings, direct clashes with security forces and kidnapping continue. Very unfortunately, we have witnessed increase in these activities in the last 12 years despite all military and non-military efforts that have cost men and money.
A series of attacks in Afghanistan claimed the lives of 20 people -- all but one of them civilians -- in the space of less than 24 hours, officials said Saturday. These people have been killed in various incidents in Herat, Helmand and Farah provinces. The victims include women and children and 10 laborers of National Solidarity Program (NSP).
Killing of civilians continue unabated at a time that based on the biannual report of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released last month, civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose by 23 percent during the first six months of the current year. UNAMA documented 1,319 civilian deaths, compared with 1,158 a year earlier. The report attributes 74 percent of civil casualties to fighters, up by 16 percent over the same period last year. UNAMA blames use of IEDs for most of the deaths and injuries.
Regretfully, the government of Afghanistan has not been able to take any major step to counter the continued killings of innocent Afghans – except condemnations. The people of Afghanistan, who have suffered bloodshed for about three decades, seem more concerned as the war against insurgency is taking longer than expected.
After about 12 years of counterinsurgency war in Afghanistan – the main purpose of which was to safeguard civilians in Afghanistan and Western countries from the menaces of terrorism – Afghan population is increasingly falling victims of roadside and suicide bombings and other sorts of insurgency. Disappointing fact is that, civilian casualties in one year have almost always been higher than the year preceding it.
Terror incidents happen so frequently in Afghanistan that killing of 20 people now seems normal even to the government that has the responsibility of security of the life of the people. Whether it is south or north, news reports on violence now come from every corner of the country. Security condition is expected to further deteriorate as the dates for presidential election and withdrawal most of the foreign troops from Afghanistan get closer.
The future, for Afghans, seems completely vague and the level uncertainty is at its climax in Afghanistan. The factor of uncertainty is largely responsible for waves of disappointments raised among the people. Only improvement in security situation can regain the trust of people and diminish their concerns.