KABUL, April 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has urged warring sides in Afghanistan to take further measures for better protection of civilians from harm in the war-hit country, said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Thursday.
"In the first quarter of 2017, UNAMA documented 2,181 civilian casualties (715 dead and 1,466 injured), a 4 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2016. Civilian deaths decreased by 2 percent while civilian injuries decreased by 5 percent," it said in a statement.
"It is civilians, with increasing numbers of women and children, who far too often bear the brunt of the conflict," Tadamichi Yamamoto, special UN envoy and head of UNAMA, was quoted in the statement.
The ground engagements continued to cause most civilian casualties, followed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as well as suicide and complex attacks.
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