The number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan in 2015 was the highest recorded since 2009, the UN said in a new report Sunday, with children paying a particularly heavy price.<br />There were 11,002 civilian casualties in 2015 including 3,545 deaths, the UN said in its annual report on civilians in armed conflict, a four percent rise over the previous high in 2014.<br />"The harm done to civilians is totally unacceptable," said Nicholas Haysom, the UN's special representative for Afghanistan.<br />"We call on those inflicting this pain on the people of Afghanistan to take concrete action to protect civilians and put a stop to the killing and maiming."<br />Fighting and attacks in populated areas and major cities were described as the main causes of civilian deaths in 2015, underscoring a push by Taliban militants into urban centers "with a high likelihood of causing civilian harm", the report stated.
