Kabul, October 9 (RHC)-- In Afghanistan, at least 54 people were killed across the country on the 17th anniversary of the start of the U.S. invasion.  The death toll included at least 19 Afghan civilians. 

U.S. and Afghan airstrikes have increased in recent months as the conflict shows no sign of slowing down and the Taliban remain undefeated. 

The United Nations says the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan reached a record high in the first half of the year, with some 1,700 deaths reported.

In New York, protesters gathered to call for an end to the Afghan war—the longest war in U.S. history.   One of the organizers of the protest, Susan Schnall, said: “It’s about all the wars the United States perpetuates on other countries, and the fact that what I have seen over the past 50 years is United States multinational corporations getting larger and larger, and continuing to support an American military that feels it can change the governance of any country it wishes to in furtherance of the interests of the corporations.”