Innocent Civilians suffer the most in Lethal Combat against the Taliban

Taliban promises to avenge former leader Mullah Mansour's death
Innocent civilians caught in a crossfire between Taliban and the Afghan Government
Security experts say there is no hope of peace in the distant future

Mullah Mansour, former leader of the Taliban, was killed in US drones strikes last week in Pakistan, a year after he assumed the leadership role. The terrorist organization has promised to avenge its leader's death in the most violent ways possible, a development greatly regretted by the civilians of Afghanistan.

Ever since September 2015, Taliban had been performing increasingly lethal attacks against the Afghan Government, ruthlessly destroying the settlements of civilians along the way. Families have been carelessly torn apart with no one to sympathize with their pain and sorrow. The battle of Kunduz, which commenced in April 2015 in an effort by the Taliban forces to take control of the city, assumed a more savage form with the onset of the Mansour leadership.

With each execution of leaders and appointment of new ones, life becomes harder for the average citizen in Afghanistan. These poor civilians, who are not concerned with either the Taliban or the Afghan government, helplessly suffer the worst forms of inhumanity. Rape, molestations, murders and kidnappings are some of the basic mistreatments hurled at these poor souls through the course of this long and everlasting war. TOLO News, Afghanistan's first 24-hour broadcasting service, after its report on the ill doings of the Taliban, received multiple threats from the organization, which claimed the report to be false.

Mohammed Ali Mohammadi, who worked for Kaboora, a production company affiliated with TOLO News, was killed by Taliban suicide bombings in January, leaving behind his wife and two children to fend for themselves in these troubled times. Similarly, another innocent civilian, Saifullah was killed in a massive car bomb attack in Kabul last month, with his father, wife and five children mourning his death.

These stories are just a couple among thousand others, and yet, even through these times of turmoil, security experts and sources close to Taliban have disclosed that peace cannot be expected in the near future. A UN report from February illustrates the fact that more than 3,500 civilians were killed in 2015, and an appalling one in four deaths were that of a child's, a big rise as compared to last year's records, making this the highest number of deaths noted.

The appointment of a new leader brings little hope for an end to this widespread bloodshed. Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada is believed to be a tough military hardliner who has no intentions of ceasefire and will only fuel this warfare further. Although Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, on behalf of the afghan government, has issued an ultimatum to the new leader, to lay down arms and resume normal life, or face the same fate as Mullah Mansoor, analysts believe it won't be of any help, as it calls for an immediate surrender instead of negotiation and peace talks, something that the terrorist organization will not digest.

Written by Saurabh Bodas.

Saurabh studies Mechatronics Engineering at Manipal Institute of Technology.

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