KABUL, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 civilians have been killed and scores wounded in Lashkar Gah city, capital of Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand since early Monday, the UN mission in the country confirmed on Tuesday.
"Deepening concern for Afghan civilians in Lashkar Gah as fighting worsens. Latest reports show 118 civilians injured & 40 killed within last 24 hours as Taliban continue ground assault & Afghan Army attempts to repel," UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) wrote on Twitter.
The city has been the scene of heavy clashes in recent days after Taliban militants have launched an offensive from several directions, trying to take control of the whole city.
The mission urged immediate end to fighting in urban areas as fighting raged in several Afghan cities in recent days.
"Parties must do more to protect civilians or impact will be catastrophic," the mission said.
The Afghan civilians continue to bear the brunt of armed conflicts as more than 1,650 civilians were killed and over 3,250 others wounded due to fighting in the first six months of 2021, according to figures provided by UNAMA recently.
UNAMA has attributed 64 percent of civilian casualties to Taliban and other militants, 25 percent to pro-government security forces, while 11 percent of all civilian casualties were attributed to crossfire during ground engagements where the exact party responsible could not be determined, and other incident types. Enditem
