A newborn baby receives treatment for a gunshot wound in her right leg after losing her mother but being rescued herself during a shooting attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on May 15, 2020. (Photo by AFP)

The United Nations (UN) says it is alarmed by the steep increase in the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan and a "striking deterioration" in respect for international humanitarian law there.

The UN said in a report on Tuesday that Afghan civilian casualties had jumped to 380 in the month of April.

The number of casualties attributed to violence by the Taliban militants last month rose by a quarter compared to the same month a year earlier to 208, while casualties attributed to Afghan security forces rose 38 percent to 172.

Deborah Lyons, the UN secretary-general�s special representative for Afghanistan, has called for an immediate reduction of violence in the country.

"I call for a halt to the fighting and for parties to respect humanitarian law that is there to protect civilians," she said. "Parties have committed to finding a peaceful solution and should protect the lives of all Afghans and not jeopardize people�s hope for an end to the war."

She said "intra-Afghan peace negotiations need to start as soon as possible."

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a Twitter post, however, disputed the figures from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and blamed "blind airstrikes and artillery fire by US and internal forces" for the casualties.

Official data shows Taliban bombings and other assaults have increased 70 percent since the militant group inked a peace deal with the United States in February.

In a horrendous attack last Tuesday, three gunmen attacked a maternity hospital in Kabul, opening fire at pregnant women and newborn babies there. At least 24 people were killed and 16 others were injured before the gunmen were taken out by Afghan security forces.

Even though the Taliban said it was not responsible for that attack, a claim that the US also made, the Afghan government said the militant group was to blame.

The US has attempted to downplay Taliban violence in order not to see the deal collapse. The agreement, signed in February, allows for the phased withdrawal of US-led forces from Afghanistan. The Afghan war, the longest in US history, started with a US invasion of the country in 2001.

The deal was also supposed to lay the groundwork for a peace process between the Taliban and the Afghan government. The recent uptick in violence has only made that prospect unlikely. Last Tuesday, and in the face of the rising violence, President Ghani ordered the country�s military to switch to offensive mode from a defensive one that had been adopted several months before in an attempt to save the deal between the US and the Taliban.

LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/17722

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