As shown in the 2010 mid-year report of the United Nations Assistance Mission...

As shown in the 2010 mid-year report of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (S/2010/463), the number of civilian casualties due to violence in my country has increased. In the first six months of 2010, there were 3,268 civilian casualties, including 1,271 deaths as a result of armed conflict — or an average of over 18 civilian casualties a day. It shows a 31 per cent increase from the same period last year. Seventy-six per cent of the incidents were the result of the activities of the Taliban and Al-Qaida terrorist groups. Six thousand civilian casualties occurred in 2009. In discussing civilian casualties, let us remember that we are referring to people — to the loss of human life, all too often of innocent women, children and elders. Such deaths must not be looked at as merely the consequences of ongoing violence or as collateral damage. Each death in Afghanistan represents a life lost, a family left behind and an entire future denied its potential.