Over 180 people killed, more than 1,000 injured in Afghanistan since July 9: UN body

KABUL: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday informed that over 180 people have been killed while more than 1,180 have been wounded in four Afghan cities alone since July 9 as Taliban offensives have escalated.

The Afghan government forces and the Taliban must stop fighting "to prevent bloodshed." If they fail to return to the negotiating table and reach an agreement, the situation for the Afghan people will become "even worse," Sputnik reported citing Michelle Bachelet.

"We know that urban warfare results in scores of civilians being killed. We have seen it before, too many times. In Afghanistan, since 9 July in four cities alone - Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Herat and Kunduz - at least 183 civilians have been killed and 1,181 injured, including children. These are just the civilian casualties we have managed to document, the real figures will be much higher," Bachelet said in a statement.

The UN high commissioner also called upon all the countries to use their influence and leverage to put an end to the conflict, which has taken another turn as foreign troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan and the Taliban went on the offensive, Sputnik reported.

Afghanistan's newly-appointed Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gholam Mohammad Ishaaqzai urged the United Nations to declare the Taliban a destructive group and to take urgent actions against it.

The government of Afghanistan also asked the international community to look at and pressure the main centres of the Taliban in Pakistan, Ishaaqzai said.

Meanwhile, the Taliban have captured Samangan province's capital Aybak city as US troops continue their drawdown from Afghanistan.

The Taliban's recent skirmish became aggressive soon after the US troops started leaving war-torn Afghanistan in large numbers under the new peace deal signed between Washington and the insurgent group in February last year.

As the Taliban intensified attacks, Afghanistan started urging global organisations and to address the deteriorating situation in the country.

Today, an airstrike by US B-52 bombers killed 11 Taliban terrorists in the war-torn country.