Gen. Austin S. Miller, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, on Monday in a video message said that the violence needs to come down for an opportunity for peace to be maintained.

Following the release of the UNAMA civilian casualties report yesterday, Miller said that the violence is too high, and the civilians bear the brunt of it.

"The violence is too high...We all know that as long as the violence levels go high, the people are going to pay...the civilians. Violence...needs to come down so we have an opportunity for a sustainable peace pathway.” Said Miller.

Meanwhile, former president Hamid Karzai in reaction to UNAMA’s report called for both Afghan sides to work for the country and start peace talks.

“The latest UNAMA report on civilians being exposed to extreme levels of violence in Afghanistan is deeply saddening. I urge the Afghan sides to show patriotism and love for their country, immediately start peace talks, and end this foreign-imposed conflict,” Karzai tweeted.

According to a new report released by UNAMA the UN documented 3,458 civilian casualties in Afghanistan (1,282 killed and 2,176 injured) in the first half of 2020.

The report said that Afghanistan remains one of the deadliest conflicts in the world for civilians despite civilian casualty figures being 13 percent less than the first six months of 2019. The drop is due to the decreased involvement of foreign forces and Daesh, the report said

Anti-Government Elements (AGE) continued to be responsible for the majority of civilian casualties, the report said.

A total of "58 per cent of civilian casualties" were caused by anti-government elements, with the Taliban responsible for 1, 473 (580 killed and 893 injured) representing 43 percent of the total number of civilian casualties in the January 1 - June 30, 2020 period, said the report.

On the other hand, the Taliban in a statement rejects the UNAMA report, which accuses the group of 43% of civilian casualties over the past 6 months, saying it uses all means available to prevent civilian casualties.

https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/violence-needs-come-down-gen-miller