AI: ‘Violence Reduction’ Must Mean No Civilian Casualties
The USA and the Afghan Taliban’s negotiations over a reduction in violence must include a commitment by both sides to abide by the laws of war and end all attacks on civilians, Amnesty International said today.
According to a statement by Amnesty International, the term “…violence reduction is an absurdity. There can be no acceptable level of violence.”
Over the past week, representatives of the USA and the Afghan Taliban have been engaged in closed-door negotiations in Doha, Qatar, apparently aimed at agreeing to levels of “violence reduction” in the conflict in Afghanistan.
“In a conflict marked by attacks on civilians, the term ‘violence reduction’ is an absurdity. There can be no acceptable level of violence. The USA and the Afghan Taliban must commit to abide by the laws of war and end all attacks on Afghan civilians,” said Omar Waraich, Deputy South Asia Director at Amnesty.
Civilians continue to be killed in large numbers in operations by both pro-government forces and international forces on the one hand, and the Taliban and other armed groups on the other.
Pro-government and international forces have been responsible for civilian casualties in aerial attacks and night-time ‘search operations’.
Taliban representatives in Qatar have been calling for a “reduction of violence” in Afghanistan in recent weeks, but have received serious backlash.
For some, the decline in violence means that the war will continue in the country, with civilians among the most important victims.
The Afghan government has also opposed the plan and has insisted on creating a “ceasefire” – a matter rejected by the Taliban.
