Ground combat engagements have surpassed improvised explosive devices as the most common cause of conflict-related civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan issued its 2013 Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, which found a total of 8,615 civilian casualties.
Human Rights Watch urged the International Criminal Court to expedite an inquiry into war crimes committed in Afghanistan by insurgent and government forces alike.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai rejected the Loya Jirga's recommendation that he sign an agreement extending the US troop presence, citing continued civilian casualties.
Amnesty International urged the US to conduct a thorough, independent investigation into allegations that CIA drone strikes have resulted in recent civilian casualties in Pakistan.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon insisted that US drone strikes must operate within international law, and make “every effort to avoid mistakes and civilian casualties.”
A UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan report indicates a 23% rise in the number of civilian casualties over the first six months of 2013 as compared to the same period last year.
Military Judge Denise Lind found Pfc. Bradley Manning guilty of violations of the Espionage Act for his disclosure of classified information to anti-secrecy organization Wikileaks.
Hamid Karzai barred US Special Forces from two strategic provinces following reports of atrocities, as US Marines level similar charges against Afghan police they are training.
After an airstrike killed three children in Afghanistan, a US military official said the kids were being used to plant IEDs and that this “widens the aperture” for NATO targetting.
A checkpoint shooting in eastern Afghanistan’s Wardak province brought the US military’s death toll in the war past 2,000. About as many Afghan civilians are killed each year.
Insurgents attacked Bagram Air Base outside Kabul—and a skateboarding program run by a nonprofit for Kabul youth, killing four kids.
