Cross-border civilian casualties in Afghanistan: January - March 2026 (May 2026) [EN/Dari/PS]

Countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan Source: UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan Please refer to the attached files. Context In October 2025, an escalation in cross-border armed violence between 10-17 October 2025 resulted in over 500 civilians killed and injured (47 killed, 456 injured).2 At meetings held in Doha on 18 and 19 October and in Istanbul from 25 to 30 October, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to declare, and subsequently maintain, a ceasefire, resulting in a reduction in civilian casualties for a period. Between 1 January and 31 March 2026, UNAMA documented over 750 civilian deaths and injuries in Afghanistan3 because of cross-border armed violence between Afghanistan’s de facto security forces and Pakistani military forces. Most of these civilian casualties occurred as a result of airstrikes in February and March. On 21 February, Pakistani military forces carried out airstrikes in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces that killed 13 civilians and wounded seven others, including children.4 On 22 February, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released a statement on X which said that the airstrikes targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan Province (ISIL-KP)5 locations in Afghanistan following recent suicide bombings in Pakistan On 26 February, the de facto authorities announced the commencement of “extensive offensive operations against military centers and facilities of Pakistani forces” in response to what they deemed “repeated acts of rebellion and assaults”.7 On 26 February, Pakistan announced the start of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (Righteous Fury) against terrorists and terrorist organisations in Afghanistan,8 and in the early morning of 27 February carried out airstrikes in Kabul and Paktika, killing 14 civil...

Original source: Relief Web