The number of civilians killed in Afghanistan hit a record high in the first half of the year, despite last month’s unprecedented ceasefire between the Afghan Government and the Taliban, the United Nations reported on Sunday.
The first week of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) concluded on Friday at United Nations Headquarters in New York, with a review of the progress made so far by countries on nature preservation, partnerships for development, and the need to ensure no one is excluded, during the drive towards the 2030 deadline.
Despite the return of tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) to Syria following local agreements and changes in territorial control, the United Nations said on Friday that fresh airstrikes have reportedly killed dozens of civilians “in several areas” of the country.
Humanitarian needs are enormous in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has reported accounts of “barbaric violence”.
The Security Council on Friday extended the mandate of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in Sudan’s Darfur until the end of June next year, but reduced the number of troops deployed in the field with an eye towards the mission’s eventual exit.
