(Bloomberg) -- Attacks against the civilian population in Afghanistan surged to a record before the September presidential elections, according to a Pentagon watchdog that has been tracking the war that began 18 years after the U.S. invasion to oust the Taliban.
Civilian casualties attributed to Taliban forces more than tripled in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or Sigar, said in a report published late Wednesday.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported a 42% increase in civilian casualties for the same period, putting them at a record high of 4,313, according to the report.
Casualties “rose significantly during the quarter due to a high number of terrorist and insurgent attacks prior to the presidential elections,” which included the use of improvised explosive devices, the watchdog office said in a summary of its report.The casualties included 1,174 deaths and 3,139 injuries.
The increase in civilian casualties comes as the U.S. struggles to negotiate an exit strategy from what has become America’s longest war. The U.S. has spent nearly $900 billion in the conflict, yet the Taliban are at their strongest since being overthrown in 2001.
Talks between the U.S. and the Taliban broke down in September when President Donald Trump canceled secret meetings with Taliban leaders and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland. That setback raised the prospect that Trump won’t be able to deliver on his campaign pledge to bring troops home.
With diplomacy failing, the conflict between Ghani’s forces, the Taliban and an offshoot of Islamic State worsened. In the July-September period, the UN documented a 72% increase in civilian casualties because of improvised explosive devices compared to the same period in 2018, the Sigar report said.
Violence wasn’t limited to civilian targets. Attacks also increased against Afghan and coalition forces, with about half being considered “effective,” according to the Sigar report. The U.S.-led military coalition reported a 19% increase in enemy-initiated attacks from June 1-August 31 compared to the same period last year. Effective enemy-initiated attacks increased 10% during the period compared to the same time last year, the report said.
Political violence and protest episodes jumped 61% for the same period, Sigar said, citing data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.
The attacks clearly undermined the election. On election day, Afghan forces were able to repel 68 attacks from the Taliban alone as the government deployed a third of its 272,000-strong army to secure the polls.
Nevertheless, the September vote had the lowest turnout since the nation first held a democratic poll in 2004. Out of 9.6 million registered voters, only 2.6 million participated, the country’s election commission said earlier this month in Kabul, citing an initial tally. Initial results aren’t expected until Nov. 14.
Turnout was partly higher in previous elections because the Taliban controlled or contested less territory. The fundamentalist group now controls or contests half the nation.
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