Nearly 400 civilians have died in Afghanistan since Taliban seized power, U.N. says

March 7 (UPI) -- Nearly 400 civilians have died in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power of the country in August, the United Nations said in a report Monday.

Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in the new report that 397 civilians have died as a result of fighting in the country.

"While the decline in hostilities has seen a sharp decrease in civilian casualties, the human rights situation for many Afghans is of profound concern," Bachelet said.

"The Afghan people face a devastating humanitarian and economic crisis that severely impacts their enjoyment of the full range of economic, social and cultural rights."

Bachelet said the Islamic State Khorasan Province, an offshoot of ISIS, has conducted several suicide and non-suicide attacks against Shi'a Muslims, mostly from the Hazara ethnic group.

"More than half the population now suffer extreme levels of hunger. An increase in child labor, child marriage and the sale of children has been observed," she said.

Bachelet noted that women's protection shelters have been closed leaving many women at risk and that "justice systems established to deal with cases of gender-based violence are largely non-functional."

"Afghan women and girls have called for their rights to fully participate in all aspects of civic, economic, political and public life. I fully endorse these legitimate demands," she said.

Human rights activists have been killed while civil society activists have been imprisoned and media workers have been arrested and beaten by the Taliban.

"We have received credible reports of the extra-judicial killings of more than 100 former members of the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces or government personnel, or their family members, carried out by the de facto authorities or their affiliates since August," Bachelet said.

Bachelet also noted that Afghanistan has suffered a "full-scale economic crash" as sanctions that had been previously applied to the Taliban are now effectively in place against the country's government.

Last month, President Joe Biden -- who has received criticism for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in August -- signed an executive order starting the process of taking $3.5 billion in frozen assets connected to Afghanistan to be used largely for humanitarian aid to the country.

"The United States has sanctions in place against the Taliban and the Haqqani network, including for activities that threaten the safety of Americans such as holding our citizens hostage," the White House said.

"While this [executive order] will help preserve a substantial portion of Afghanistan's reserves to benefit the Afghan people, we understand there are no easy solutions for Afghanistan's economic challenges, which have been exacerbated by the Taliban's forced takeover of the country."