The war in Afghanistan has entered a “new, deadlier, and more destructive phase” with more than 1,000 civilians killed in the past month during a Taliban offensive, U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, told the Security Council on Friday.
“A party that was genuinely committed to a negotiated settlement would not risk so many civilian casualties, because it would understand that the process of reconciliation will be more challenging the more blood is shed,” Lyons said.