ReliefWeb

On January 14th 2019, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, near the Green Village compound. The blast left at least five dead and over 110 injured.

Four of the dead were security guards, though most the wounded are said to be civilians, with at least 23 children reported to be amongst the casualties.

The blast occurred in the early evening when there is often substantial traffic. The compound was damaged in the attack as well as nearby residential houses.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.

Last year, AOAV recorded a significant increase in casualties from explosive violence in Afghanistan. Civilian casualties increased by 37%; from 3,119 civilian casualties in 2017, to 4,260 in 2018.

However, whilst most (78%) of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan were caused by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) – and, notably, 61% (2,616) were from suicide attacks – ISIS were the main perpetrators.

Casualties from Taliban use of explosive actually decreased by 27%, though it is increasingly difficult to attribute responsibility. (There was a 37% increase in civilian casualties from incidents by non-state actors where the perpetrating group was unknown.)

AOAV calls for states and international organisations to work collaboratively to generate greater awareness of the number of civilians killed and injured each year by IEDs, and encourage a greater stigma from political, religious and social leaders on the use of IEDs. There is an urgent need for preventative measures to be implemented by States and the international community.