KABUL/ISLAMABAD: At least 42 civilians have been killed and 104 wounded in Afghanistan in the fighting with Pakistan between February 26 and March 2, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said on Tuesday, as the military conflict between the neighbors entered its sixth day.
Military tensions between the South Asian nations remained high on Tuesday, with Afghanistan saying it had captured another Pakistani post in the Kandahar region and the fighting between the allies-turned-foes was “still ongoing.”
“The civilian casualties include those caused by indirect fire in cross-border clashes...as well as those caused by airstrikes,” the UN agency said, adding that the numbers were “preliminary.”
The conflict — the worst between the countries in years — was sparked last week by what Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said were retaliatory strikes on Pakistani installations in response to Pakistan’s targeting of militants in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan says Pakistani forces targeted its civilians, a charge Islamabad denies.
