Afghanistan faces an 'unprecedented' number of civilians deaths from the Taliban offensive, the UN has warned.
It comes as the US military said it would continue to support Afghan government forces with airstrikes as it prepares to completely withdraw from the country by August 31.
Violence has surged since early May when the Taliban cranked up operations to coincide with a final withdrawal of US-led foreign forces.
The Taliban's ongoing assault has seen the insurgents capture half of Afghanistan's districts and border crossings as well as encircle several provincial capitals, with most of the fighting in the countryside.
Afghanistan faces an 'unprecedented' number of civilians deaths from fighting between the Taliban and Afghan army (pictured at Torkham, near the Afghan-Pakistan border)
It comes as the US military said it would continue to support Afghan government forces with airstrikes (pictured a F-35B Lightning II aircraft launched from assault ship USS Essex for a mission in Afghanistan) as it prepares to completely withdraw from the country by August 31
The United Nations warned on Monday that Afghanistan could see the highest number of civilian deaths in more than a decade if the Taliban's offensives across the country are not halted
The Taliban has launched a sweeping offensive across Afghanistan following the US drawdown ahead of a complete withdrawal by August 31
The United Nations warned on Monday that Afghanistan could see the highest number of civilian deaths in more than a decade if the Taliban's offensives across the country are not halted.
In a report released Monday documenting civilian casualties for the first half of 2021, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it expected figures to touch their highest single-year levels since the mission began reporting over a decade ago.
It also warned that Afghan troops and pro-government forces were responsible for a quarter of all civilian casualties.
'Unprecedented numbers of Afghan civilians will perish and be maimed this year if the increasing violence is not stemmed,' UNAMA head Deborah Lyons said in a statement released with the report.
'I implore the Taliban and Afghan leaders to take heed to the conflict's grim and chilling trajectory and its devastating impact on civilians.'
During the first half of 2021, some 1,659 civilians were killed and another 3,254 wounded - a 47 percent increase compared with the same period last year, the UNAMA report said.
The rise in civilian casualties was particularly sharp in May and June - the initial period of the Taliban's current offensives - with 783 civilians killed and 1,609 wounded, it added.
'Particularly shocking and of deep concern is that women, boys and girls made up of close to half of all civilian casualties,' the report said.
The rise in civilian casualties was particularly sharp in May and June - the initial period of the Taliban's current offensives - with 783 civilians killed and 1,609
