Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) in a new report says that 2019, like previous years, was a deadly year for Afghan civilians despite ongoing peace efforts to end the 18-year-old war.

The report shows that 86,823 civilians, including women and children were harmed by the conflict between 2009-2019 (28,979 killed, and 57,844 injured).

The high number of civilian casualities indicate all sides’ failure to comply with international humanitarian law.

In 2019, fewer civilians were harmed by conflict compared to 2018, the report says. In 2018 there was a total of 11,611 civilian casualties, while during the same period in 2019, there were 10,772 civilian casualties.

In this episode host Noorwali Saeed Shinwarai discusses the topic with the following guests:

• Shokrullah Mashkor, AIHRC spokesman
• Abrarullah Murad, parliament member
• Jawed Faisal, spokesman for the National Security Advisor
• Assadullah Rashid, Member of the Human Rights Research and Defense Team