The United Nations says more women and children were killed or wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021 than in the first six months of any year since 2009.That is when the United Nations began keeping count.The U.N. Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict office produces such a report every six months.It said, in all, there were 1,659 civilians killed and 3,254 wounded. That was a 47 percent increase compared with the same period last year.Deborah Lyons is the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan.She asked the Taliban and Afghan leaders to pay closer attention to the current path of the war and its terrible effects on civilians.Men still make up most of the civilian casualties. But, the rise among women and children is sharp.Thirty-two percent of the casualties in the first half of this year were children, with 468 killed and 1,214 wounded.
