There has been a surge in violence since
the US led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Though the exact
civilian death toll in Afghanistan is not available, it is estimated
that almost 30,000 civilians have been killed in the US-led war to
defeat Taliban and al-Qaeda.
Thousands of Afghan civilians have died
as a result of indiscriminate bombings, lack of medical treatment,
disease, starvation, lawlessness and crimes committed by US-led NATO
forces. It is reported that 2010 was the deadliest year for both Afghan
civilians and US led coalition forces. In the past few months alone,
hundreds of civilians have lost their lives as a consequence of US
airstrikes and the use of heavy artillery. Hundreds of thousands of
children have been orphaned, disabled or maimed and countless number of
women widowed.
There seem to be no end for the
outrageous assaults and slaughter on the civilian population of
Afghanistan. The ever growing anti-US sentiment in Afghanistan is
extremely high and US efforts to win the hearts and minds of Afghan
people have failed. The US installed puppet government of Hamid Karzai
is helpless in protecting the people of Afghanistan.
It is widely believed that Afghanistan
is the most dangerous place in the world for a child to be born and
raised. The country has the highest infant mortality rate in the
world—257 deaths per 1000 live births, and 70 percent of the population
lacks access to clean water. According to Transparency International’s
annual index of corruption, Afghanistan is the second most corrupt
country in the world. The continued human rights violations, record high
drug production and warlord rule in Afghanistan have become a threat to
civilians. But still the US refuses to accept Afghanistan as a failed
state.
The use of white phosphorous has been
condemned by human rights organizations as a cruel and inhumane act
because it causes severe burns. The US and NATO forces in Afghanistan
have used white phosphorous injuring scores of civilians.
The US continues to use harsh and
unauthorised interrogation techniques on suspects such as shaking and
slapping, keeping prisoners in cold cells, shackling prisoners in a
standing position, dousing them in water and water boarding.
Numerous human rights violations
including robbery, kidnappings and rape are ongoing against the people
of Afghanistan. In a recent incident, several teenage girls were
abducted and put into a van by American soldiers stationed in
Afghanistan's south-western province of Farah. The girls were taken to a
military base in the province and repeatedly gang raped by US soldiers.
One young girl died as a result of severe bleeding caused by tears in
her genitals from forced sexual activity. Some of the girls were sent to
a nearby hospital for treatment of injuries suffered during the rape. A
recent nationwide survey indicated that 17 percent of Afghan women have
been sexually assaulted.
The atrocities and suffering of Afghan
civilians will not come to an end unless the US-led forces withdraw or
are driven out of Afghanistan.
...................................
Picture: Poppy cultivation being protected in Afghanistan.
__________________________________________________________Written by: Ibrahim Nazim
20 January 2011, Thursday
16 Safar 1432
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