Record civilian death toll in Afghan war last year: UN

KABUL, Feb 4, (AFP) - A record number civilians were killed in Afghanistan's decade-long war last year, with a dramatic rise in the number of deaths from suicide attacks, the United Nations reported Saturday.

A total of 3,021 civilians died -- mostly at the hands of insurgents -- up eight percent from 2,790 in 2010, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its annual report.

It was the fifth straight year that the toll has risen, with a total of 11,864 civilian lives claimed by the conflict since 2007.

The report stands in contrast to an upbeat assessment of 2011 as “remarkably successful” by NATO-LED forces, who are preparing to withdraw combat troops in 2014 and hand security over to the Afghan government.

The UN has disagreed previously with NATO assessments, saying in September that the number of security incidents was up 39 percent in the first eight months of the year, while NATO said they were down two percent.

The latest UN report also says the conflict caused growing disruption of life for ordinary Afghans last year, with an estimated 185,632 people displaced -- an increase of 45 percent over 2010.

Taliban-led insurgents caused 77 percent of the deaths last year, up 14 percent from 2010, while NATOled and Afghan government forces were responsible for killing 410 civilians -- 14 percent of the total, the report said.

Another 279 deaths -- nine percent -- could not be attributed to either side.