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More civilians have been killed by airstrikes carried out by Afghan and US forces than by the Taliban in the first quarter of 2019, as per a United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report.

The report highlights that at least 305 civilians have been killed by the forces of the two nations during the first three months of this year, as compared to the 227 people killed by the Taliban and other insurgents.

"UNAMA urges both the Afghan national security forces and international military forces to conduct investigations into allegations of civilian casualties, to publish the results of their findings, and to provide compensation to victims as appropriate," the report states.

The publication comes in the wake of US officials holding a series of talks with the Taliban in Doha, in its bid to bring about peace in the South Asian nation, according to Sputnik. Meanwhile, the report highlights that civilian casualty in 2019's first quarter has reduced by 23 per cent as compared to the casualty figure for the same period last year. UNAMA suggests that this may be due to a decrease in suicide bomb attacks. UNAMA chief Tadamichi Yamamoto expressed alarm at the report's findings, outlining that "all parties must do more to safeguard civilians".

UN also in another report stated Bhopal gas tragedy as the world's "major industrial accidents" of 20th century. The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy which killed thousands of people is among the world's "major industrial accidents" of the 20th century, a UN report has said, warning that 2.78 million workers die from occupational accidents and work-related diseases each year. The report released by the the UN labour agency International Labour Organization (ILO) said in 1984, at least 30 tons of methyl isocyanate gas, which was released from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Madhya Pradesh capital, affected more than 600,000 workers and nearby inhabitants.

"The Government figures estimate that there have been 15,000 deaths as a result of the disaster over the years. Toxic material remains and thousands of survivors and their descendants have suffered from respiratory diseases and from damage to internal organs and immune systems," it said. The report titled 'The Safety and Health at the Heart of the Future of Work - Building on 100 years of experience' said the Bhopal disaster was among the world's "major industrial accidents after 1919". Among the other nine major industrial disasters after 1919 listed in the report are the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters as well as the Rana Plaza building collapse.

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