organisations have outlined measures on how to prevent civilian casualties from occurring. However, these can be difficult to enforce, especially when the conflict involves non-state actors, such as terrorist organisations, who utilise tactics which can result in the indiscriminate or deliberate harming of civilians. For example, in 2017 a joint Afghan-US raid on a Taliban stronghold resulted in the deaths of 22 civilians who were reportedly used as human shields by the Taliban. 79 Additionally, on another occasion the US troops were forced to stop firing at Taliban insurgents after they identified them using children as human shields. 80 Furthermore, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that by 2017 a total of 10,453 civilians had been killed in the conflict in Afghanistan with the leading cause of death in 2017 being IEDs. 81 Weapons such as IEDs can also prove problematic for distinguishing between combatants and non-combatants; this is highlighted by a report conducted by the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs which reported that “in the period 2011-2015, 82 79 Associated Press, US and Afghan Troops Reportedly Kill 22 Human Shields in Anti-Taliban Operation (2017), <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02- 13/afghan-joint-operation-deaths/8264290> [Accessed 12 February 2019]. 80 Faiez, Rahim, ‘Taliban Used Kids as Human Shields’, Washington Post (September 19, 2007) <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp- dyn/content/article/2007/09/19/AR2007091900372.html> [Accessed 14 February 2019]. 81 United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Afghanistan: 10,000 Civilian Casualties in 2017 (2018), <https://unama.unmissions.org/afghanistan-10000-civilian-casualties-2017- un-report-suicide-attacks-and-ieds-caused-high-number> [Accessed 14 February 2019].
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