UNITED NATIONS， Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations on Monday reported a record number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2016， and called for urgent action to protect civilians in the Asian country.
"A new report issued today by our colleague at the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has detailed the highest number of civilian casualties ever recorded in a single year in the country， including record figures for children killed and injured in 2016，" UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
"The alarmingly high figures have prompted the UN to call on all warring parties to take urgent steps to keep people safe，" the spokesman said.
The report details more than 11，400 conflict-related civilian casualties， the highest figure since the UN began systematically documenting casualty figures in 2009， he noted.
A total of 3，498 civilians were killed and 7，920 were wounded in 2016， a combined increase of three percent over the previous year， according to the annual report for 2016.
"All parties to the conflict must take immediate concrete measures to protect the ordinary Afghan men， women and children whose lives are being shattered，" said Tadamichi Yamamoto， the UN secretary-general's special representative for Afghanistan.
Fighting between Afghan security forces and armed groups， especially in the country's populated areas， remained "the leading cause of civilian casualties" more than two years after NATO's combat mission ended， said the UNAMA.
About 61 percent of all civilian casualties were caused by armed groups like the Taliban and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)， which is also known as the Islamic State， the latest UN report said.
BRUSSELS， Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Experts from international lending bodies will soon return to Athens to complete a review of Greece's economic reforms， Jeroen Dijsselbloem， president of the Eurogroup said here on Monday.
Eurozone finance ministers gathered in Brussels on Monday and discussed the ongoing second review of Greece's economic adjustment program， which has been in a deadlock for months.
"We have intensified talks in the last week， with the institutions and the Greek government， to find enough common ground for the institutions to go back to Athens. The outcome of today is that they will go back to Athens in a very short time，" Dijsselbloem told a press conference after the Eurogroup meeting.
The review -- carried out by the European Commission， the European Central Bank， the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- has been on hold since last December when IMF's requirement of a substantial debt relief to Greece was refused by the European creditors.
The president of Eurogroup said the outcome of the meeting was a "very positive and good step，" which allows the review mission to return to Athens and resume work in order to conclude a staff-level agreement on policy reforms.
A staff-level agreement is a necessary condition for the successful conclusion of reviews and therefore for the country to receive financial support consisting of 86 billion euros (91 billion U.S. dollars) in bailout funds.
But Dijssebloem stressed "there is no agreement， no political agreement at this point， as that would be too early."
Meanwhile， to address the IMF's concern of debt sustainability， Dijsselbloem said the review mission would shift from austerity measures to structural reforms.
"There will be a change in the policy mix moving away from austerity and putting more emphasis on deep reforms which has also been a key element for the IMF，" he said， noting that the mission experts would work with the Greek authorities on tax and pension system reforms， and also on labor market regulation.
The meeting comes with Greece due to make a 7.2- billion-euro repayment in July.
To avoid the Greek economy falling back into uncertainty， Dijsselbloem urged the Greek government and the institutions to come to an agreement as soon as possible.
"We all feel a sense of urgency because of the key issue of confidence. If we want the economic growth in Greece to continue and to start picking up， confidence is the key factor，" he said.
"That confidence has been returning in the last year and needs to strengthen and we do not want to jeopardize that. That will be a strong motivator to do the work as soon as possible，" he added. (1 euro = 1.06 U.S dollars)
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