record numbers killed and maimed

Afghanistan war: Children and women increasingly caught up in violence; record numbers killed and maimed.

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Abdul Malik dreams nightly of his family home in the Charchino, Uruzgan, where he lived with his wife and three young children until recently.

"It's green there. There are gardens, fruit trees and fresh air," the 22-year-old farmer said, as he methodically slapped handfuls of mud to build a wall of his new home — one among thousands in Kabul's fetid, crowded slums.

Abdul said fighting between the Taliban and Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces broke out in his village one month ago.

At around 11pm, an enormous explosion shook dirt from the walls of his mud-brick home. He later discovered a rocket had destroyed his neighbour's house, killing a mother and a 13-year-old boy.

"His body was so damaged I didn't recognise him," Abdul said.

Afghanistan's war is killing and maiming record numbers of civilians, according to a new report released by the UN.

Women and children in particular have increasingly been caught up in the violence.

In the first six months of 2015, the UN recorded 1,270 child casualties and 559 female casualties — a 13 per cent and 23 per cent increase respectively, compared to the same timeframe last year.

About one quarter of Afghanistan's civilian war victims were children.

Overall, 4,921 civilian casualties, including 1,592 deaths were documented.

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