The war may be winding down for international forces, but not for Afghans. Across the country, civilian casualties are on the rise and the conflict is far from over. As the summer "fighting season" gets underway and clashes intensify between the government and insurgents, Afghan civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence. What's more, despite more than $100 billion dollars spent in Afghanistan by Western governments, the country is facing a dire shortage of modern medical facilities. Run by an Italian charity, Kabul's Emergency Hospital is one of the few places where wounded victims of war are offered life-saving help. Doctors report seeing a 36% rise in casualties in the first two months of this year alone. War-related admissions at the hospital rose by a staggering 85% since 2010.
These photographs were taken at Kabul's Emergency trauma hospital as well as the ICRC's Kabul rehabilitation centre. These are the faces of war in Afghanistan today.