UN report says number of civilians killed or injured in Afghanistan soared by 31%

According to the UN report, more than 1,200 civilians were killed in the first six months of 2010 and another 1,997 civilians were injured.

The Taliban and other insurgents were responsible for 76% of the casualties, up from 53% last year.

With overall numbers up, Afghans felt “less secure than ever”.

The latest UN report showed that the number of children killed or wounded rose by 55% in the first six months of 2010 compared to the same period last year, with 176 children killed and 389 injured.

Most of the casualties were caused by insurgent attacks and roadside bombings.

The report revealed that 386 or 12% of the Afghan casualties were due to US, NATO or other pro-government forces.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai had repeatedly warned Western powers that civilian deaths caused by NATO attacks helped to fuel the insurgency.

The US and  NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus had said earlier this month: "Every Afghan civilian death diminishes our cause."

However, shortly afterwards, a NATO airstrike had killed up to 25 Afghans travelling to a funeral in Nangarhar province.

The Taliban had also issued their own "code of conduct", telling fighters to avoid killing civilians.