A/HRC/34/41 acts were suspicion of support to the Government or of membership in the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces. Between 1 and 17 June, anti-government elements in a Taliban-controlled area of the Sancharak district, Sari Pul Province, abducted 22 civilians of Hazara ethnicity, including 3 women and 1 child. On 29 August, anti-government elements abducted five Hazara men in the Chora district of Uruzgan Province; all five were eventually released following the intervention of local tribal elders. B. Pro-government elements 20. During the reporting period, UNAMA/OHCHR attributed 2,493 civilian deaths and injuries to pro-government forces, which represents a 44 per cent increase compared with 2015. The rise resulted from an increase in offensive operations and counter-attacks by the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces against anti-government elements in or around civilian-populated areas. In a continuation of the trend documented in 2015, 47 per cent of civilian casualties caused by pro-government forces during the reporting period resulted from the use of explosive weapons, mainly mortars, rockets and grenades. On 3 November, Afghan National Defence and Security Forces fired mortar rounds targeting a Taliban position in Khwaja Sabz Posh district, Faryab Province. One of the rounds landed in a civilian compound where a wedding party was taking place, killing 12 civilians, including 6 girls and 4 boys, and injuring 13 others, including 10 girls. 21. UNAMA/OHCHR documented an 86 per cent rise in civilian casualties from air strikes by pro-government forces compared with the same period in 2015. Such incidents caused 548 civilian deaths and injuries, equal to 5 per cent of all civilian casualties. Air strikes by the Afghan air force caused the majority of such casualties (218). On 27 October, the Afghan National Army conducted an air strike targeting Taliban fighters in Dehrawud district, Uruzgan Province, killing four civilians. On 2 November, international military forces carried out an air strike against the Taliban in Kunduz city that killed 32 civilians and injured 36 others, mostly women and children. 22. On 26 January 2016, responsibility for the Civilian Casualty Avoidance and Mitigation Board was transferred from NATO to the Government of Afghanistan. UNAMA/OHCHR encouraged the Government to ensure that the Afghan-led Board functioned as a focused, operational mechanism to identify areas for improving civilian casualty mitigation efforts and welcomed support from the international community to strengthen it. The Board drafted a national policy on civilian casualty mitigation and established a working group to draft an action plan for implementing it. The first meeting of the working group was held on 2 October. UNAMA is a member of the working group and provides technical support on international law and practices. 23. UNAMA/OHCHR also welcomed initiatives by the Government to mitigate civilian casualties. In particular, in 2016, the Government approved the above-mentioned national policy on civilian casualty mitigation. It further established a senior-level working group designed to facilitate a policy-driven dialogue on existing protection-of-civilians concerns and to support the implementation of improved practices to reduce civilian casualties. The Chief Executive of the National Unity Government chairs the working group, which first met on 30 June 2016. IV. Children and armed conflict 24. From January to November 2016, the country task force on monitoring and reporting on children and armed conflict verified 1,501 incidents of killing and maiming (from 1,754 reported incidents), which represents a 23 per cent increase compared with the 6